“I mean, great dude, gonna fit right into the culture that we have, obviously. Someone that can create his own shot, can break down the defense, and we needed that at times last year, so he will be a great addition in terms of role and also as a locker room guy.”.
Jordan Clarkson Will Fix Knicks Bench
As is widely documented, the Knicks had the worst bench in the league in the 2024-25 season. In the regular season, New York averaged the league-worst 21.7 points off the bench, more than half the points scored by the league-leading San Antonio Spurs (44.1) and nearly half of their East rivals, the Detroit Pistons (40.2) and Indiana Pacers (39.8).
It was a similar story in the postseason, as the Knicks received only 15.8 points off their second-unit players, which ranked 15th among the 16 teams.
The addition of Clarkson — a professional scorer — would instantly solve those issues.
“I know him. I’m not as close with him as Josh, obviously, but I know him,” Brunson said of Clarkson. “I talked to him a little bit. Good dude. He surrounds himself with some good people whom I know. A great addition for us, sure.”
Clarkson, 32, averaged 16.2 points and 3.7 assists off the bench for the Utah Jazz last season, while shooting 36.2% from the 3-point line.
Knicks Not Done Filling Out Roster
The additions of Clarkson and Yabusele will undoubtedly help the Knicks significantly, but the franchise is not yet done making moves.
According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Knicks have significant interest in bringing in Ben Simmons, a former No. 1 overall pick, to shore up their defense and playmaking.
“The two teams that we can report on that have ongoing interest in Ben Simmons are Sacramento and New York. That’s the last word we got as we’re leaving Las Vegas,” Fischer said on his “Insider Notebook” livestreamed on Bleacher Report.
“So, generally speaking, the Kings are still a player in the veteran guard market, and you can absolutely put Ben Simmons in that conversation, even though he’s obviously more of a hybrid player than Malcolm Brogdon, than [Russel] Westbrook, than Chris Paul.”
The Knicks are co-betting favorites, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers, to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2026 NBA Finals, a year after making their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2000. New York’s odds skyrocketed after the Boston Celtics (Jayson Tatum) and Indiana Pacers (Tyrese Haliburton) lost their franchise stars to Achilles injuries for the entirety of the 2025-26 season.
