Mike Brown has made no secret of his plans to switch up the New York Knicks’ offense. And it’s starting to sound like Jalen Brunson is the player who will need to adapt more than anyone.
As Stefan Bondy of the New York Post writes, on top of injecting more pace into New York’s attack, Brown is expected to “bring more balance and structure to players’ roles.” That, in turn, stands to significantly impact Brunson, who as Bondy notes, “held the ball longer than any player in the NBA last season.”
This approach will represent a stark departure for both the Knicks, and their Captain. He finished first in average seconds per touch among all the league’s rotation players last season, first in 2023-24, and second in 2022-23, trailing only former teammate Luka Doncic.
Though his centrality to the offense has skyrocketed with the Knicks, Brunson hasn’t ever been what you’d consider an off-ball player. According to BBall Index, he’s never rated higher than the 19th percentile in time spent away from the rock. He’s also never finished above the 40th percentile in catch-and-shoot three-point attempts per 75 possessions.
Mike Brown is not afraid to change Jalen Brunson’s role
It’s easy to interpret Brunson’s usage as a form of inflexibility. Brown doesn’t see his floor general through that lens. During his introductory presser, he said that having “a guy like Jalen out there gives you the versatility to play all different types of ways.”
The Knicks’ new head honcho isn’t wrong.
Playing under Brown might be an adjustment for Brunson, but his offensive tendencies aren’t entirely rigid. He has churned out an above-average number of cuts per 75 possessions over the past two seasons, per BBall Index. And during the 2023-24 campaign, he ranked inside the 71st percentile of movement points per 75 possessions.
Improving upon both his three-point volume and efficiency in The Mecca also renders Brunson a more impactful off-ball threat. Most of his triples have come off the dribble, but he’s converted 44.7 percent of his spot-up threes since joining the Knicks.
There’s one big issue the Knicks must address
The problem with Brunson’s role changing has little to do with the point guard himself. It’s the roster around him.
So much of Brunson’s ball-dominance in New York is borne out of necessity. The Knicks do not have another high-level creator. Karl-Anthony Towns or Mikal Bridges come closest, and neither is an expert at setting up their teammates out of live dribbles.
Last year, Brunson was the only member of the regular rotation to have more than half of his buckets go unassisted. And his teammates, as a unit, ranked in the 29th percentile of half-court shot creation.
This puts an awful lot of pressure on Mike Brown to create something new using most of the same players. Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele add plenty of versatility, but they’re not hard-wired to run the offense themselves.
A bulk of the pressure will fall on Towns. Brown’s offense should call for more interplay between Brunson and the big man, and more facilitation duties for Towns. JB should be up to the task of scaling down.
And if anyone else is ready to scale up, his role with the Knicks may never be the same.