The New York Knicks are expected to add Jordan Clarkson after a two-year contract with outstanding free agent Gershon Yabsere and was acquired by the Utah Jazz.
The New York Knicks may not have a long-time head coach, but they strengthened their depth and signed power forward Gershon Yabsere from the Philadelphia 76ers, picking up Jordan Clarkson after being bought by the Utah Jazz.
Under former head coach Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks have been criticized for not using their bench for being the first to do so. In Thibodeau’s defense, Miles McBride was his best bench player for most of last season.
With Mike Brown’s new coach and two high-level bench players, the Knicks should still be able to improve significantly, but the skipper has not yet been decided.
Clarkson was signed to the veterans’ minimum, and Yabucere signed a two-year, $12 million deal, which doesn’t exactly break the bank.
In Yabusele, the Knicks get a physical, hard defensive defender, and in Clarkson get a first guard who can pack a stats sheet. Both are solid three-point shooters, closing out the benches of McBride and Mitchell Robinson.
“These are two guys from a team that wasn’t that deep last year and add two rotation players that should give the next coach some options,” Brian Windhorst said.
The Knicks didn’t enter the offseason with a lot of financial flexibility, but neither Clarkson nor Jabcere ordered a lot of pay, allowing the Knicks to close the roster if necessary.
However, Clarkson has spent the past five and a half seasons with the Utah Jazz. As a result, he has not met the 65-game threshold since 2022.
“I liked upgrading my budget bench,” Tim McMahon said.
“I don’t know what Clarkson has. He’s been in an impossible situation in Utah for the past few years. They kept saying his toes hurt.”
The Knicks can simply summarise their biggest offseason needs as “depth”, but Clarkson and Jabsere offer more than that.
Last season, the Knicks ranked 27th in three-point attempts per game, and were 24th in rebounds despite employing one of the league’s best rebounders, Karl Anthonytowns.
Yabusele and Clarkson are both trigger happy shooters, and Yabusele adds some size and physicality to the frontcoat.
“He can lift the inside as a four of them, and I think playing him especially next to Mitchell Robinson would be really suitable for the Knicks coming out of the bench,” said Frenchman Tim Bontemps.
“And this is the team we saw sometimes in the playoffs and they’ll really have a hard time getting three seconds.
“Usually, these guys both come in and shoot the ball pretty consistently from deep. So Jordan Clarkson was always the guy who got a 3-second game of 4, 6, 6, 7.”
The Knicks have been able to take a step forward this season as Mike Brown calls the play and enjoys more options than Thibodeau has ever done.