The New York Knicks are set up perfectly to compete for another championship this season. Outside of Mitchell Robinson, who joined the Boston Celtics in free agency, they have effectively the same roster. However, they do have some weird dilemmas they will have to face, and one in particular is the bench guard rotation.
New York has plenty of guard depth. Great guard depth, in fact. Jose Alvarado, Miles McBride, Landry Shamet, and even Tyler Kolek could make a case for minutes this season. But unfortunately, the Knicks only have so many bench guard minutes to dole out behind guys like Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges.
And when you consider factors like contracts, immediate competitive impact, and player development, the decisions become even more difficult for the Knicks.
Knicks' bench guards all deserve minutes for different reasons
Take McBride, for example. First, he's going to be entering next season on an expiring contract, and the Knicks have yet to hand him a new extension. That's going to be a storyline next year.
So should the Knicks play McBride and try to ramp up his trade value to try to move him at the deadline? Or should they worry about getting an extension done before they make that decision?
Then there's Alvarado. The Knicks just signed him to a new contract this summer, and last year, he was one of the most important bench pieces for the Knicks during their run to an NBA championship.
He's obviously going to get minutes off the bench, but should he get more than guys like McBride and Shamet, the latter of whom was also very important to the Knicks' playoff success last season?
Speaking of Shamet, he also signed a new contract with the Knicks this summer. His ability to play off the ball is going to lead to him getting plenty of playing time off the bench.
Then, there’s Kolek. Objectively, he is the least proven of any of the four guys we've talked about. However, when you consider the next impending second-apron issues, it could be important to develop a young player like him who is going to be playing on a smaller contract.
Whether it's McBride's impending extension, Alvarado and Shamet’s proven impact, or the desire to strengthen Kolek’s development, the Knicks bench guard rotation could include some tougher decisions than most people realize.
Because as Mike Brown tries to hand out minutes, he’s going to have to consider all of those factors in his choices.
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