Second day at training camp and final one before the arrival of Karl-Anthony Towns.
The New York faithful anxiously waited for the Karl-Anthony Towns trade to be confirmed on Wednesday while the Knicks squad went down to South Carolina’s facilities to train for the second day of camp.
With KAT still not there but expected to make his first appearance donning Knickerbocker threads on Thursday, Thibs and the Mob got a few more reps in their collective bag before addressing the media once the working hours were over.
Here is some of what the coach and some players said on the eve of the most anticipated arrival in New York since Melo graced MSG in 2011.
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) October 2, 2024
Leon Rose
On acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns:
“We are beyond excited to welcome Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks family.
“Karl-Anthony brings a skill set that is unique to the game of basketball. He possesses a blend of playmaking, shooting, rebounding, and defending that in combination with his size allows him to compete at a level that is rare in this league.
“Karl-Anthony has demonstrated throughout his career to be a high-caliber player and person on and off the court who will complement the type of team and culture we continue to build in New York.”
On the departing Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Charlie, DaQuan, and Duane:
“I want to sincerely thank Julius for his contributions to both the Knicks organization and our community. An All-Star and All-NBA player, Julius worked tirelessly day in and day out to represent the Knicks organization with grit, grace, and tremendous skill. Julius played a major role in establishing the foundation and culture of our team, and we cannot thank Julius enough for what he did for this city and organization both on and off the court.
“Over the last year, Donte not only captivated the city with one of the most iconic shots in Knicks history but also immediately bought into the culture we were building here and was an example on and off the court from the moment he arrived as a Knick.
“We wish Julius, Donte, Charlie, DaQuan, Duane, and Keita all the best moving forward and thank them for all their contributions to our team.”
Tom Thibodeau
On the impact of Karl-Anthony Towns missing a couple of early training camp sessions:
“Yes and no (KAT’s absence was a problem).
“Obviously, you’d like to have everybody here but reality is we don’t. And what it does do is get us to look at different combinations a little earlier in camp, stuff we were planning on doing anyway. So we get to those things first. So it’s going to invert the order a little bit.
“But we’ll get to everything eventually. We look at training camp basically the whole month.”
On the Knicks’ new playbook:
“We’ve spent training camp putting in a new system on offense and defense.”
On whether or not he’ll approach rotations differently to avoid injuries:
“Every team has injuries. You just deal with them. That’s part of pro sports. So some years you don’t have any injuries, some you do. So whatever your reality is, you deal with it.”
On load management and the Knicks perceived lack of depth:
“I’m not worried about our depth. I actually like our bench a lot.
If you look at the things that our guys have done… Landry [Shamet] has been on a team that’s been at a high level, Cam [Payne] has been on a team that’s won at a high level, Deuce [McBride] has provided a lot for us over that time. Precious [Achiuwa] has been in a lot of big games for us.
“And then one of the starters is going to be there with them. So I feel that our bench is going to be a huge asset for us.”
On Jalen Brunson’s leading mindset:
“The mental part, his makeup, it doesn’t surprise me at all. It’s how he’s handled everything his whole life. It’s also what drives him.
“His high school career was very similar, his college career, and his pro career has taken on the same path. He continually gets better and that’s what makes him so special. He’s never satisfied.”
Jalen Brunson
On the Knicks’ offense with Karl-Anthony Towns:
“Yeah, I’ve thought about (how things will work with KAT). Whenever you add shooting, it opens things up. It adds another weapon and another way for us to exploit defenses.”
Josh Hart
On whether Karl-Anthony Towns’ absence from early workouts is a setback:
“I don’t know. I think he can still put the ball in the basket, so he’ll be all right.”
On Karl-Anthony Towns joining the Knicks:
“I think it takes a little bit of time. For me, I haven’t played with that many shooting bigs in my career, so I’m looking forward to someone we can isolate on the post, make good decisions, put the ball in the basket.
“I’m going to tell him whenever I get a rebound and run, just trail to the three-point line. I’m sure he’ll get some open threes that way. It’s going to take some time just to get the feeling down.”
On Thibs’ lack of load managing and his approach to playing as much as possible:
“That’s for the media to sit there and cry about. I’ll never go into a game and think I’ve got to pace myself or not play as hard as I’m supposed to.
“At the end of the day, I go out there for every game I play, pray to my Lord and Savior for protection, and I go out and play this game as hard as I can. I’m not worried about burning out or taking a day off.”
On Brunson’s success and mindset:
“It’s good when you have your captain getting that much love and that much notoriety and still being the same person.
“Seriously, it’s dope how he’s done it and how he carries himself. He doesn’t let that stuff get to his head. He’s as hungry as he’s ever been.
On his role among the Knicks’ players:
“I’m the Duke of Manhattan. Brunson is the King of New York. OG [Anunoby], he can be the Duke of Queens. Mikal is the Duke of The Bronx. Can’t be Mikal in Brooklyn. We stole him from there.”