The New York Knicks will enter the 2024–2025 NBA season with the strongest roster the franchise has put together in years—if not decades—but one certainly thinner than anticipated.
Late-preseason injuries and roster cuts have significantly impacted the Knicks’ depth ahead of their opener against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, and the team will go to war with a thin 10-man rotation for at least the first few weeks of the season.
Among those wounded are center Mitchell Robinson, expected out until past New Year, and backup big Precious Achiuwa, who the team announced yesterday will be out for at least the next two-to-four weeks.
Those two were joined on the sidelines by the injured/released veterans Landry Shamet (cut after suffering a shoulder injury), T.J. Warren (will join G League’s Westchester, per Ian Begley), and Chuma Okeke (waived for good).
All things considered, the Knicks will open the season with just 12 players on guaranteed contracts—two fewer than the NBA minimum roster requirement—and three two-way players.
Robinson’s absence, due to an ankle injury, is the most damaging injury impacting the Knicks’ outlook and prospects for the regular season. Even if the arrival of Karl-Anthony Towns might mean his demotion to the second unit if KAT mans the five, Robinson is a bonafide starter in this League and true menace inside the paint.
Mitch will be out until January, if not longer, but he should return at some point before the playoffs—assuming the Knicks don’t move in him a trade before the deadline.
Achiuwa’s strained left hamstring, an injury he suffered in the last preseason game played in D.C. on Friday, will leave him off the court for at least two weeks. Keep in mind, that the Knicks announced he will be re-evaluated in two-to-four weeks, which means he won’t return in two-to-four weeks, but simply that the franchise will provide a new update at that time.
