New York Knicks: Who will be the fifth starter

The New York Knicks are entering a massive year.

The first year of Jalen Brunson’s team-friendly deal just kicked in, they have a new coach in Mike Brown, and they have phenomenal depth on this roster.

Their starting lineup is among the most talented in the league, and four of the starters have already been decided.

Barring injury, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns will be starting every night for this team.

However, the fifth spot is still very much up for grabs.

Here are all of the candidates for that role and who I think should be the final man.

Jordan Clarkson

I don’t really have much to say here, as it should very clearly not be Clarkson.

Since he has a Sixth Man Of The Year award in his career and will play a big role on the bench, I figured I might as well give him a bit of time.

He is a ball-dominant guard, and the Knicks already have Jalen Brunson to do that.

In his 6MOTY season in Utah, the Jazz were +12 in net rating with just one of him or Donovan Mitchell, that team’s closest in playstyle to Brunson, on the court, but when they played together, they were -1.19.

He is not a good defender either, which makes him a bad fit next to Brunson.

He will be crucial to the Knicks’ success, but just not as a starter.

Guerschon Yabusele

Yabusele was the piece I was most excited about the Knicks adding this summer. His Olympic run gave him a return to the NBA with the 76ers, and he had a very good year.

However, his preseason in New York has been off to a questionable start.

He has shot 4/19 from behind the arc, which is an area he was supposed to excel in. He is also listed at 283 pounds, 18 pounds heavier than he was listed at last season.

This has shown up on the court, as he looks slower.

He could have been a good starter, but this weight gain has made me skeptical.

Towns and Brunson are already bad defenders, so having another slow big man could be a disaster.

Josh Hart

Hart started all 77 games he played in the regular season last year, but he was benched in the playoffs.

The Knicks were worse with him on the floor last season when he started, eventually leading to Tom Thibodeau turning to Mitchell Robinson.

Their net rating in 2024-25 with Hart starting was -1.66, but in 2023-24, when he came off the bench, his net rating was 5.52

I do not think Josh Hart is a bad player, or anything close to it, but he is a very poor fit in the starting lineup.

He is most dangerous when he has the ball in his hands and can push the pace, but that isn’t what the stars need.

Brunson and KAT are dangerous in the half-court, so the Knicks want them with the ball instead of having Hart running the floor.

When he is playing with the bench unit and gets to be one of the better players on the floor instead of the fifth-best, it allows his playstyle to be much more impactful on the offense.

His defense is also questionable, and that isn’t ideal when questionable would be a compliment to Brunson or Towns on that end of the floor.

Hart will need to be very important if the Knicks want to lift the Larry O’Brien, but being a starter is not the way he can best do that.

Miles McBride

It was difficult to decide between these final two players, but I think the final one slightly edges out McBride for the last spot if it were up to me.

McBride’s biggest strength is his defensive versatility.

He makes it so much harder to have a small guard pick on Towns or Brunson, as you feel comfortable with any of Bridges, Anunoby, or McBride on them in a switch.

I also like the idea of having Bridges not spending all game on the opponent’s best guard, as McBride lets him get some rest and put more energy towards scoring.

When you add McBride next to Brunson, the Knicks’ net rating jumps by seven, and I think that is a very good case to him starting.

However, I don’t know about playing two small guards, so I think he might be better suited off the bench.

Mitchell Robinson

There is so much good with Robinson’s game. He is a legitimate game-wrecker on the offensive glass and can be a defensive anchor.

His offensive rebounding is especially impressive, as his rate stats are the best we have seen since Hakeem Olajuwon.

However, there are some concerns as well.

Simply put, the foul shooting is not good at all.

In the playoffs, he is a career 39.1% shooter from the foul stripe.

We saw Boston start doing a “Hack-A-Mitch” last year in the playoffs, forcing the Knicks to choose between sending Robinson to the line every play or having him off the floor.

This is a double-edged sword, as it does lead to the opponent getting their own players into foul trouble.

Speaking of foul trouble, Robinson is no stranger to that.

He averaged over three fouls per 36, and that is what kept him off the floor sometimes.

The Knicks’ net rating is over four points better with Robinson on the floor, and the KAT-Mitch pairing was unbelievable.

With them sharing the floor, the Knicks’ net rating was 8.88.

There isn’t a wrong answer between Robinson and McBride, but I would just barely choose Robinson.

Edison Pellumbi is a first-year student studying broadcast journalism. To contact him, email him at ejp5889@psu.edu.