The New York Knicks are starting the new season with a fresh approach. Training Camp has already shown adjustments designed to maximize the All-NBA duo of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. At the same time, the team looks to take advantage of a season where the Eastern Conference is missing several key contenders due to injuries. With a new pace and movement on the court, the Knicks will make defenses work hard to find clean scoring opportunities under the regime of Mike Brown.

NBA champion Iman Shumpert dropped his take on Brunson’s role, bold in his proclamation: “Jalen Brunson will lead the Knicks to the promised land,” he said. Shump, however, also added, “I think they need one more piece.” Shumpert’s confidence in Brunson is unshaken, but so is his belief that reinforcements are required.

General Manager Leon Rose and the Knicks’ front office seem to agree with Shump’s words, because they’re already weighing their options. Malcolm Brogdon and Landry Shamet, both on non-guaranteed deals for training camp, chose New York over other offers in free agency. But with just one roster spot open, the Knicks need to open another guaranteed spot to keep both of them, and it’s likely to be either Pacome Dadiet or Miles McBride. With McBride already a steady rotation member last year, all eyes are on Dadiet, and what deal will materialize for him. It might look like a minor shuffle on paper, but one that could potentially change their season.

Brogdon is a savvy veteran playmaker as well as a solid floor-spacer, and Shamet, on top of being a good shooter, already has established chemistry with the Knicks‘ roster. Last season, Brogdon returned with averages of 12.7 points and 4.1 assists while Shamet had 5.7 points and 1.2 rebounds, with both players coming from seasons that resulted in limited playing time for different reasons. Brogdon was the sixth man of the year in 2022-23 and has shown his ability to emerge as a consistent scorer throughout his NBA career. He averaged 19.1 points and 5.1 assists back in 2022-23 while playing for the Pacers and can easily integrate at New York as a secondary scorer who can lead the bench unit.

Both of them are key pieces who can ease the offensive load on Brunson in the clutch, where he was severely overtasked last season under coach Tom Thibodeau. Now, with new head coach Mike Brown looking to tap into his bench, they could help maximize the blueprint Shumpert pointed to.

With Brunson as the established leader on this team, having enough firepower around him and Karl-Anthony Towns would increase the Knicks’s ceiling, especially with the perfect one-year window to make the Finals.

Knicks looking to unlock Jalen Brunson’s off-ball potential

Brunson remains the centerpiece of the Knicks, but with training camp, it has become clear that Mike Brown is looking to expand the offense and Jalen Brunson’s role in it. Brown is done limiting Brunson to a traditional ball-handler role, and plans to run a fast-paced, up-tempo offense where every player is active, creating space, and thriving off clean looks from the star. This system is particularly reminiscent of Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, who has thrived through constant off-ball movement and forcing defenses to react to him.

Knicks insider Kristian Winfield went more in-depth about this change on a livestream, saying, “One of the themes of training camp and media day so far has been that the ball is going to move. On top of that, you’re creating easier looks for Jalen. KAT said, ‘We can use Jalen how the Warriors used Steph Curry — he’s getting off the ball, relocating, getting the ball back again, and shooting a cleaner shot.'”

Brunson’s efficiency off screens already sat at 1.13 points per possession, and only had assists on 43.6% of his threes, compared to other ball-dominant guards like Tyrese Haliburton (52.8%) or Cade Cunningham (57%). This implies that Brunson is shouldering a lot of the shot creation load, something that could put too much pressure on him come playoff time.

Brown also emphasized that he wants to give Brunson easy opportunities to score, saying, “The biggest thing that I want to do for him is try to get him, as well as everybody else, easy shots. One of the easiest shots in the game of basketball is a spray three.” By using this combination of ball-handling and off-ball movement, Brunson can turn his paint touches into major scoring opportunities, making defenders react while opening up perimeter shots, a la Oklahoma City Thunder. With a deeper bench and Brown’s new system, the Knick’s offense could become lethal and dynamic with Brunson at the head.