NY Knicks: 3 things we’ve learned from team workouts so far

What we have learned so far from the New York Knicks first workouts under Tom Thibodeau.

The New York Knicks are finally playing basketball as a team again. Most of last year’s squad is in New York for voluntary workouts granted to the eight teams who were left out of the NBA’s return-to-play scenario in Orlando, Florida.

This is the first time the Knicks have conducted official team activities since mid-March, following their overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks in what turned out to be their final game of the 2019-20 season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

For recently-hired head coach Tom Thibodeau, these workouts provide him his first opportunity to work with the young talent on the Knicks roster, along with a few veterans who could find their way back on the team next season, depending on what the front office decides to do with their non-guaranteed contracts and team options.

Mitchell Robinson – one of the franchise’s cornerstone pieces – decided not to participate in these workouts due to personal reasons. However, all of the other young players – from RJ Barrett to Frank Ntilikina to Dennis Smith Jr. – have been in attendance. Veterans Taj Gibson and Bobby Portis are also part of the mix despite the possibility that neither is with the team next season.

To follow quarantining protocols, the Knicks are staying in a Manhattan hotel before commuting to Tarrytown for team activities. They conducted individual workouts – one player with one coach – before entering their own “mini-bubble” to start team practices this week.

Let’s break down some of the things we have learned from the workouts.