Asked for an update on Josh Hart, Knicks coach Mike Brown answered for the whole roster: "Yeah, no, no, everybody's healthy. Nobody was held out of any portion of practice." He did not address Hart individually.
James Wiseman isn't in the Knicks' plans as a starter, or even necessarily a backup yet. Mike Brown, who coached him at Golden State, wants a simple role built on his natural ability, to expand later. Wiseman "didn't play any college basketball, really," Brown said.
"Are we still hungry? ... Or are we just content? That's our big question." Jalen Brunson said keeping the Knicks' core intact is very valuable, but the answer comes in the first couple of weeks. The title is "in our past," he said, with "no relaxation whatsoever."
Asked whether whatever kept Josh Hart out could linger into Oct. 20, Knicks coach Mike Brown said: "Not from— not from my understanding, yeah." He gave no detail on what the issue was, so the reason Hart sat remains unexplained.
Mohamed Diawara got the start so he could get preseason reps against top scoring wings. Knicks coach Mike Brown: "I wanted him as a young big wing to be able to guard either Kawhi or Barnes." Brown said Diawara showed growth.
Pacome Dadiet showed growth but still has to do a better job staying in front of the ball, Knicks coach Mike Brown said. "But, man, I thought he tried to be physical." Brown also joked about Dadiet's late backcourt violation.
Andre Drummond's job for the Knicks, per Mike Brown: screen and roll on offense, protect the rim by going straight up on defense. "We need Andre to screen and roll and put pressure on our opponents," Brown said, adding that Drummond did both well.
Tony Bradley and Drew Eubanks are vying for one Knicks roster spot, and Mike Brown warned the winner's minutes could shrink: "if one of those guys makes our team, at least right now, they may not even play 7 minutes." His advice: make the most of it with few mistakes.
Andre Drummond had three blocks against Minnesota as the Knicks' backup center, but Mike Brown cared more about his voice on defense: "the blocks are great, you know, but I'm not a huge shot-blocking guy. His communication right now is unbelievable."
Pacome Dadiet drew the Anthony Edwards assignment against Minnesota, and Knicks coach Mike Brown was forgiving: "nobody's going to stop Anthony Edwards." Brown said Dadiet took the right shots. His one gripe: giving up drives down the middle on closeouts.
Josh Hart, with Knicks extension talks on hold: "We're human. Sometimes it's difficult, you know, if you don't know what your future is." It's not frustrating, he said, since he's under contract with a team trying to repeat. The team has to block out rumors on social media.
Andre Drummond is a far better passer than Josh Hart expected, and the Knicks have to find him more on rolls to the rim, Hart said: "When he rolls, he commands attention and sometimes he's able to get deep seals and we missed him a couple of times" in the last Wizards game.
Every Knick came out of the last game okay and practiced, "a pretty good practice," Mike Brown said. Karl-Anthony Towns will pop out for jumpers a lot and has the green light to trail. Andre Drummond is told to keep rolling to the rim and shoot 3s only when wide open.
Pacome Dadiet must shoot with confidence, the Knicks' Mike Brown said at practice: "As soon as that thing hits his hands, if he has any space at all at 6'7 or 6'8, whatever he is, boom, let it fly." He called Dadiet one of the team's best cutters but wants better feel on defense.
Jordan Clarkson says coming off the Knicks' bench is "not my regular role that I've played before I got here," but "it's something that I've fallen in love with." He added that nothing is set yet in preseason.
"Those 5, they gonna play... everybody else in this gym, you fighting." Knicks coach Mike Brown told his team Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart will play; everyone else is fighting to make the team or for minutes.
From Knicks practice: Josh Hart said "my knees are achy a little bit," raised amid talk of league wear and tear, not as a reason to sit. "That's also why I don't think I'm gonna play till 40." On a deep rotation: "Might not be my night, and I'm cool with it."
Josh Hart says the short summer after the title didn't hurt his conditioning: "probably 3 weeks after, I was, I was kind of back working out," lifting at 6:30 most days in July and August. Asked how good college friend Jalen Brunson is: "it's not LeBron, let's relax."
Knicks practice: Jalen Brunson said his offseason injury kept him in a cast longer than his earlier broken hand, with surgery about three weeks later. "I feel good, but also I know that it wasn't just my normal summer." Mike Brown said everyone passed the camp conditioning test.
Brown wants more Karl-Anthony Towns at the elbow and more pick-and-roll for OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, but warned what worked in the playoffs "may not work during the regular season." He floated Andre Drummond as an elbow passer too: "Maybe Andre is too. I don't know."
Mike Brown gave veterans a longer post-Finals break and pushed younger players back after Labor Day: "We put a little bit more pressure on our younger guys than our older guys." Jalen Brunson said rehab and other obligations mean he hasn't decompressed: "Not really."
With Mitchell Robinson gone, Andre Drummond is the backup center, but Mike Brown said: "We're not expecting Andre to come in and be Mitch... everybody else has to step up and box out a little bit harder." Brown added OG Anunoby may play center more than last year.