Knicks’ rotation, Julius Randle’s representation, Buddy Hield and more

The New York Knicks begin training camp in less than a week, and there are questions to be answered.

You submitted them. I responded.

Let’s get to it.

(Some questions have been edited for clarity.)

Is there any scenario where Tom Thibodeau rolls with a 10-man rotation to start the season? Even if it’s 10-12 minutes a game for Miles McBride, the first third of the season is filled with back-to-backs and Thibs can’t run Jalen Brunson into the ground by December! — Austin R.

I hear what you’re saying, Austin R. The Knicks have four back-to-backs in their first 13 games of the season. That’s a tiring stretch, but it also comes when players’ bodies are the freshest. If anything, I consider a redistribution of minutes more likely than the addition of a 10th regular to the rotation.

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Think about it like this: The rotation was so full last season that there weren’t even enough minutes to appease everyone. Storylines persisted for years about Obi Toppin not being able to play as much as a former No. 8 pick normally would. Now, Toppin is out, and Donte DiVincenzo, a 26-minute player on a playoff team last season, is in. It means the Knicks already have to find 10 or so more minutes, which makes adding McBride to the mix even more complicated.

It’s why I assume the third-year point guard will begin the season without consistent playing time.

If the Knicks want to give Brunson a rest for a few extra minutes on a random Tuesday, they have Immanuel Quickley, the NBA Sixth Man of the Year runner-up. They have others who aren’t point guards but are still ballhandlers. The newest, Donte DiVincenzo, is a playmaker. And then there are the holdovers: Josh Hart, Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and even Quentin Grimes, who makes the right passes on the move or around the perimeter.

If the Knicks were to extend their rotation to 10 guys for a game, I would argue McBride is not the favorite to take that slot. It could be Jericho Sims, who filled in at backup power forward during the month Toppin was hurt last season and could do so again if this season’s smaller team is getting pulverized down low.

The Knicks got outscored by 7.7 points per 100 possessions when Sims and Isaiah Hartenstein, two conventional centers, shared the floor last season, but head coach Tom Thibodeau believed the tandem worked better than the differential showed. Thibodeau points to the rebounding. The Sims-Hartenstein lineups gobbled up 40 percent of their missed shots, which is production out of a video game. And Thibodeau believed better defense would come over time. Whenever someone asks the coach about Sims, the first trait he mentions is his footspeed. Sims can guard the perimeter and inside as Hartenstein takes over the conventional center duties.

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Certainly, those lineups aren’t ideal. Spacing will cramp, then scrunch, then cramp again until it collapses on itself so tightly that a black hole emerges in the middle of Madison Square Garden. And I don’t believe Thibodeau goes to this look regularly. The nine-man rotation will be the norm. But the Knicks are small at the backup four; they’ll use Hart or Barrett behind Randle most of the time. If they need more size, I could see Thibodeau going back to a lineup he liked last season.

Is Randle leaving CAA significant or do Knicks fans read too deeply into things? — Zack B.

To answer the first part of your question, yes.

And to answer the second part of your question, yes.

It is significant. Earlier this month, Randle officially left CAA, the agency that has represented him for nearly a decade. He is signed now with WME, where Bill Duffy, who is also Barrett’s agent, will represent him.

Randle was with CAA, who had repped him for most of his career. Meanwhile, the Knicks are constructed with CAA dust. Their president of basketball operations, Leon Rose, once ran the basketball division at CAA. Knicks executive vice president William Wesley was at CAA with Rose. Thibodeau is with CAA, which gave him the connections that made him the automatic favorite to get the coaching gig after the team hired Rose. Randle was with CAA and so was Obi Toppin. The Knicks’ big signings last summer were Brunson and Hartenstein, who are both with CAA. Their big midseason trade was for Hart, another CAA client. They’ve notoriously lusted for CAA-repped stars, mostly famously Donovan Mitchell.

But it’s not like the Knicks sign only CAA guys. The big acquisition this summer was Donte DiVincenzo, who is not a CAA client.

To me, the Knicks-CAA relationship is about more subtle elements than just the players they target. For example, various agents get nervous that if a player of theirs goes to the Knicks, then it will mean a season of the Knicks pushing CAA on them, which can affect the nitty gritty of NBA business. And that’s where we get back to Randle.

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My strongest reaction to Randle leaving CAA is not, “Oh wow! Randle left the agency with the most ties to the Knicks! He must be about to ask for a trade!!” It was more about business nitty gritty, the timing of his contract. Players in Randle’s situation don’t usually switch agents, especially when they’ve been with the same one for so long.

Randle just completed the first year of a four-year extension, a contract that got him nearly every cent he was eligible to make at the time he signed it. If a player is unhappy with a new contract or how his free agency went, he may change agents. Or if he has a big professional decision upcoming, such as free agency, he could hire a new rep before. But it’s not common for someone in Randle’s position — two years after signing his current contract and at least two years (and maybe three) before becoming a free agent — to do it.

The odd timing was part of the reaction inside the NBA.

The Knicks have held onto Randle because there hasn’t been a realistic trade in which they give him up and get better. After 2021-22, when his value was at an all-time low following one of his worst seasons and with an expensive contract kicking in, they didn’t want to attach draft picks just to send him elsewhere. They hoped for a rebound season from him. They got it. Now, after his second All-NBA season in three years, he’s too good to give up without getting something substantial back. I’ve been told James Dolan is a big-time Randle supporter, too, which certainly doesn’t hurt the forward’s job security.

If the Knicks uncovered a trade that made them far better but it meant trading Randle, I think they’d do it — regardless of who is repping him. But Randle is a two-time All-Star in his prime who also requires a specific type of roster to fit. And thus, there aren’t many trades that fit the description, whether Randle is with CAA or not.

Why haven’t we traded Evan Fournier? — Rob C.

Because there is no reason just to give him away.

He’s a free agent after this season. And remember it’s 2023; short cardigans aren’t the only expensive trend back in style because of their length. Expiring contracts are as important as they’ve been in the NBA in years, considering the punitive luxury-tax rules the league is phasing in over the next couple of seasons. Fournier’s contract is $18.9 expiring.

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The Knicks could use him to bring back a player on a long-term, sizeable contract. Or they could pair him with another eight-figure salary to trade for a star who’s coming from a team that wants financial flexibility, a boatload of draft picks and maybe some young guys in return.

Getting off of Fournier’s money for the sake of it isn’t a priority. The Knicks are over the salary cap and below the luxury tax. They have expressed no interest in attaching draft picks to him just to send him elsewhere, according to league sources.

Is a Buddy Hield trade worth it at this stage of their improvement? — Winston P.

As always, it depends on what you trade, but I am inclined to say no — just because what the Knicks give up for Hield would be more than just the worth of the trade package. It also would mean sacrificing playing time for an up-and-comer with promise.

I don’t think it will take a massive offer to land Hield, who The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported earlier in the month is working with the Pacers on finding a trade. He is 30 years old and remains one of the world’s spectacular marksmen, but he’s a free agent after the season and is not exactly defensively slanted.

Yes, the Knicks could use extra shooting. Place Hield next to Brunson, Randle, Barrett — anyone — and he, alone, changes the spacing. If a defense leaves Hield open, he hits the shot. For years, opponents have lost their minds scrambling after Hield, hoping he can’t get up a 3-pointer. It forces mistakes, which opens up the rest of the offense.

But trading for Hield also would mean canceling out someone else currently on the roster.

The Knicks just re-signed Hart and signed DiVincenzo. It wouldn’t be either of them. And I couldn’t see them parting with one of their promising, young guys (nor do I think they should), such as Quickley or Barrett or Grimes, just to acquire Hield.

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The basketball fit makes sense, but I’m not sure there is a trade that does.

I’m a Villanova grad and love Ryan Arcidiacono, but why did the Knicks bring him back when they’re loaded with guards and are very thin at forward? — Ed G.

Ahhhhh, it must be September! We are talking about the end of the Knicks’ bench!

At least two players currently on non-guaranteed rosters will come out of training camp still standing. Maybe this topic deserves a larger story down the line. The future of Charlie Brown Jr. is at stake!

First, on the topic of Arcidiacono, it doesn’t hurt that Thibodeau is a massive fan. During his previous two stints with the Knicks, the coach lauded Arcidiacono for his work ethic behind the scenes. Coaches love a 15th man who practices like a maniac and pushes others to the same energy. He’s a popular teammate, too. Because of that, I wouldn’t be shocked if he earned one of the open roster spots heading into the regular season.

Of course, he doesn’t have to be the only one.

The Knicks have only 12 players on guaranteed contracts. They could keep up to three more. Arcidiacono, Brown Jr., Duane Washington Jr. and Jacob Toppin are on training camp contracts. DaQuan Jeffries and Isaiah Roby are on non-guaranteed, one-year agreements. Three more players are on two-way contracts: Nathan Knight, Jaylen Martin and Dylan Windler.

There are position battles all over.

If the NBA had HBO’s “Hard Knocks”, the Knicks would be a good choice for it.

(Photo of Julius Randle: Eric Espada / Getty Images)