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

3) Role of the new assistants

One of the most intriguing aspects of monitoring the Knicks workouts from afar has been seeing the new assistant coaches in action. When the Knicks social media team shared a photo of the assistant staff watching Kevin Knox, it nearly broke Twitter.

As Alex Wolfe pointed out on a recent Locked on Knicks podcast, it appears, at least initially, that former Kentucky assistant Kenny Payne is working with the forwards, while former Jazz assistant Johnnie Bryant is focused on the guards. This makes perfect sense based on their reputations in helping star players develop at those respective positions.

According to Jonathan Macri of Knicks Film School, Payne has been working “almost exclusively” with two of his former Kentucky players, Julius Randle and Kevin Knox, along with Mitchell Robinson—although Robinson has not been part of the team workouts.

Meanwhile, Bryant has been seen working with Barrett and Frank Ntilikina, among others. And Mike Woodson was recorded with two-way player Kenny Wooten during individual workouts. Wooten has been very complimentary of his time training with the Knicks staff.

While New York will probably add several new pieces to the roster before next season begins, it is good to see the young players are already benefiting from the new coaching hires.

The Knicks are stuck in an impossible situation, waiting for the current league year to end, while uncertainty surrounds the start of the next season. How do they keep their roster fresh? How do they continue to develop their young players? It starts with individual workouts, like the ones the team is allowed this week. It’s hard to read too much into these practices, but at least it’s a start.