New Knickerbocker Karl-Anthony Towns didn’t speak but we got plenty of talk.
The New York Knicks got their preseason going at their practice facilities with a house packed full of players, coaches, and media members alike—but not kats, not at least officially, if you know what I’m saying—on Monday morning as part of NBA’s Media Day.
Training camp kicks off today in Charleston for the Knickerbockers, but before we move on to cover the first reps taken by our boys, it’s time to reflect on what was said during the past few hours as Tom Thibodeau, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges addressed reporters and tried their best to avoid talking about Karl-Anthony Towns.
Here’s most of what the boss and his soldiers said at MSG Training Center.
Tom Thibodeau
On working with Karl-Anthony Towns in the past and the unofficial trade:
“Good try. I can’t comment on that.”
On Mitchell Robinson’s recovery:
“There’s no real timeframe for him other than we want to make sure he’s completely healthy before we move forward. As we get more information down the road [we’ll make a call].
“We’re going to be patient and take our time with it. I don’t want to put any sort of timeframe. When he’s ready to go, he’s ready to go. He’s doing well. I can tell you that.
“We’re just going to go step-by-step with that. First thing is to get him back and see where he is.”
On what Mitchell Robinson does best and what he adds to the Knicks:
“I like the versatility he gives us. We won a lot of games with our rebounding last year. We know he’s elite. Offensive rebounder, probably the best in the league. Defensive rebounding. Rim protection. Pick and roll defense. Those are things he adds to the team.”
On rebuilding the team following a trip to the second round of the playoffs last season:
“No matter what happened last year, you start it at a zero pace the next season. You have to build a foundation first. It’s step-by-step. It’s a long grind, and you prepare for that.
“And I would think that you begin with the end in mind. What’s it going to take at the end for us?”
On offensive rebounding and the team philosophy he’s trying to keep building:
“Whatever the strengths of your players are, you want to try to take advantage of those. But you also have a philosophy offensively, of getting the ball into the paint, and usually, you can force the defense to collapse.
“We want to drive the ball into the paint, force people to collapse, and then that brings bodies off of people, and that’s what leads to the offensive rebounds. It also leads to kickout 3s and a lot of high-value shots.
“So that’s what we strive for, and we try to work on that every day.”
On the versatility of these new Knicks:
“The one thing that I do like is, I like the versatility of what we have. You look at Mikal, Josh and OG—you can use them on the ball and you can use them off the ball.
“Josh and OG are very disruptive off the ball, in different ways, and then Mikal is very, very good on the ball. And then you can rotate those guys onto the ball and you’re giving guys different looks.
“I think, in this league, sometimes a steady diet of one guy is not the best way to go. We can be disruptive that way. I think we could add another element to our defense.”
On the team’s steady improvement and keeping up their offensive and defensive efficiency:
“We were one of four teams [last season] that were top 10 in offensive and defensive efficiency. And I think we can improve in both of those areas.”
Jalen Brunson
On losing Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo:
“That was definitely tough. Thankful that Julius welcomed me with open arms here. That news, it was crazy.
“I’m really thankful for them and their friendships and everything and what they brought to this team.
“Really thankful I got to get a relationship with Julius. The memories we made together were really fun.”
On his friendship with Donte DiVincenzo:
“Donte, he was a groomsman in my wedding. That should tell you everything you need to know about our relationship. Love him to death.”
On Karl-Anthony Towns:
“Who’s Karl? I have no idea who that is.”
On his role in franchise decisions and his input on the Towns trade:
“I don’t deal with anything front office-wise. Maybe in the future down the line. But that’s not my role. I gotta do my role, perfect my role, be the best teammate I can be.”
On five-out spacing and playing with Towns:
“It’s a different dynamic, for sure. It gives us another weapon, and I mean, the reads are definitely different.
“You still just have to see how the defense reacts to the different situation that we’re in, but yeah, it’s definitely… it’s a difference out there.”
On the new season ahead:
“We want to take the next step. We want to be better than we were last year. But I think for us, we can’t get back to where we were. We can’t get back to Game 7 in the second round. We have to start all over again. I think that’s the beauty of all of this. You never know where you’re going to end up.
“Obviously, we want to get better. And we’re going to use last year definitely as motivation to continue to pursue our goals. But we have a long way to go.”
Mikal Bridges
On Jalen Brunson’s success and path to stardom:
“I knew throughout college, but I really knew when he signed [with the Knicks]. I knew what he was going to do, especially in the league we play in.
“Him having the ball and being able to be ball dominant—his efficiency is out of the roof.
“I knew what he was going to be able to do with the ball in hands here, more than what he was able to do in Dallas.”
On the Knicks’ playing style next season:
“There’s gonna be five guys out there, I think, just playing the right way. It doesn’t matter if I’m having the ball or anybody’s having the ball — the ball is just finding everybody, everybody’s feeling comfortable, playing fast, and just moving it, trying to find a good-looking shot.
“I think pretty much everyone on the team can drive, kick and pass and shoot. So it’s good when you have a lot of good talent who can do pretty much a little bit of everything.”
On teaming up with Karl-Anthony Towns:
“I like KAT, man, I played against him for years. He can stretch the floor. You forget until you stand next to him just how tall he is. He’s tall as hell. Obviously a great player.”
On teaming up with OG Anunoby:
“I’ve been a fan of OG for a while, happy he’s on my side.”
On sacrifices for team success:
“You play for the guys out there that you care about. If you want to be one of the best teams, everybody’s got to be dialed in.”
On his contract extension, one he’s eligible to sign starting today, Oct. 1:
“I have no clue, man. I’m just excited for training camp.”
Josh Hart
On losing Julius Randle:
“I think, for [Randle], it was probably pretty difficult and pretty frustrating.
“He came here when the Knicks had a losing record, when they were struggling and he helped turned the franchise around, kinda change the trajectory of it.
“I think the organization and the fan base is eternally grateful to him for that. And the time that he’s spent here, I think—and you guys know he played with extreme passion, competitiveness.”
On the impact of Karl-Anthony Towns:
“KAT is an amazing player—someone who will be really good in terms of spacing, knocking down shots, blocking shots.
“We’re extremely excited with what we have—officially and unofficially, and we’re excited to get started.”
On Towns and the Knicks’ offensive potential:
“It allows the spacing to be … I mean, the court is going to be wide open. The rim’s going to be there. It’s going to put defenses in rotations. It’s going to free up more opportunities for offensive rebounds. It’s going to be a positive.”
On the team’s future and the expectations for next season:
“I think we’re going to be a very good team. I’m not going to sit there and label us contenders. I’m not going to sit here and label us a lottery team. I’m not going to do any of that. That’s for you guys to do.
“But I think we’re going to be a team that is going to go out there and compete at a high level, a team that New York’s going to be proud of. We’re going to bring excitement back to this city. And that’s something that, hopefully, at the end of the year, they’ll have a lot of.”
On Randle and DiVincenzo’s return to New York as members of the Wolves:
“When they come here, I hope and know that the Garden is going to show both of those guys love for the sacrifices they made in a Knicks jersey.”
On the strength of the Eastern Conference:
“The East is definitely going to be tough. A lot of teams made big moves this offseason and shored up the rotation. So it’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to be a cakewalk, and we know that.
“We think we’re able to compete at a very high level and we’ll see how high that level is this year.
OG Anunoby
On playing alongside Mikal Bridges:
“It will be pretty fun.”
On re-signing with the Knicks:
“I always wanted to be here, so it wasn’t a hard decision for me.”