Tyler Kolek has been on a bit of a role-rollercoaster to start the season for the New York Knicks. The 24-year-old guard played 14, 13, 10, and 11 minutes respectively in the team's first four contests. He has appeared in six of their seven games since then, not playing more than five minutes in any of them. Jalen Brunson's ankle injury, though, could give him a chance to get back in the rotation.
Brunson's unfortunate injury happened late in Wednesday night's game against the Magic. It could present the Knicks with some rotational changes to make for several games. Starting Deuce McBride or Landry Shamet in Brunson's place would allow Josh Hart to continue to energize the second unit. It would also be their best hope at replacing Brunson's shooting.
McBride's ball handling makes him ideal in this situation, despite Shamet being Brown's preferred spot-starter when Mitchell Robinson has sat out. With one ball handling guard injured and another starting, Kolek could suddenly become key off of the bench. The new offense, especially early, seems to be predicated more on ball movement and making reads than isolation scoring.
Earlier in the young season, Brown remarked that Kolek has to get up into players defensively to continue to earn rotation minutes. He could have a chance here to resume his back-up point guard role, even if only during the games Brunson misses.
Kolek is still finding his footing with the Knicks
Brown surprised some fans by including the second-year guard in his plans for opening night, but Kolek delivered. He logged seven points and two assists in the win against the Cavaliers.
The Knicks' head coach hasn't spoken directly to why he mostly removed Kolek from the rotation. It makes sense that he would not make a habit of deploy an 11-man rotation, as he did against Cleveland.
Brown has said, in reference to offseason signing Guerschon Yabusele's lack of minutes, that someone is always shortchanged when a coach plays a 9.5-man rotation. Even if the response did not concern Kolek, he has met the same fate thus far.
The Knicks were facing a roster crunch heading into the season, with several veterans expected to make the roster despite being signed to non-guaranteed contracts. The expectation around the NBA was that they would trade one of their younger players. Malcolm Brogdon's retirement simplified things. After waiving Garrison Mathews, the entire 'young core' survived the offseason.
Kolek potentially re-entering the Knicks' rotation could be a crucial opportunity for him to take advantage of. It may not guarantee that he gets regular playing time when Brunson returns to the court, but it can show his coach that he'll be ready when his name is called.