00:00The Knicks have made, and they're still on the verge of making some moves in free agency
00:03for some key rotation players.
00:05Gershon, Yabusele just agreed to a two-year deal.
00:09And then Jordan Clarkson is supposed to head to New York from Utah as well.
00:13Those numbers will get finalized.
00:15So let's talk Knicks basketball with New York Post Sports.
00:19And New York Got Game host, Dexter Henry.
00:22Dexter, what's going on, my man?
00:24Oh, it's good, man.
00:25NBA free agency is rolling.
00:27A lot of moves being made.
00:28Busy, busy first couple hours yesterday, busy today.
00:32All good, man.
00:32How you doing?
00:32All right, I'm feeling good, man.
00:33But let's start off by talking about Yabusele.
00:35He didn't do much in his first stint in the NBA when he was with the Celtics.
00:40But last year with the Sixers, he averaged, what, 11 points, five boards, two assists.
00:46We talk about how the Knicks needed to add depth to their core.
00:50Is this a key signing for a rotational player or not?
00:55No, absolutely is.
00:56I talked about this yesterday in a video.
00:58I did about three free agents that I thought the Knicks could target.
01:02Yabusele was one of them.
01:03I like the numbers you mentioned.
01:05He filled in in the starting role.
01:06They asked him to play as a big with Joel Embiid out down in Philly.
01:10But this is a guy who is going to be pretty efficient.
01:13He shot a 50% from the field, 38% from downtown.
01:16That's the key.
01:17He can stretch the floor for the Knicks.
01:19He's going to be a backup big for them off the bench.
01:22He will replace Preston Sachua in that role.
01:24And this is absolutely an upgrade, in my opinion.
01:26He's a guy who can hit the three.
01:28He can hit the corner three, something the Knicks value a lot in their offense.
01:32So I love this signing.
01:33I think it's a great value.
01:34They use their taxpayer mid-level exception.
01:37The Knicks are not going to do much more after this because they're going to get Jordan Clarkson,
01:42which we'll talk about in a second.
01:44And they're also probably going to just sign one of the rookies they just drafted
01:47to a minimum deal to round out this roster.
01:50But they have more depth.
01:51The scoring should go up on this bench.
01:54This is a team that was last in bench scoring last year, Brandon.
01:58So getting a piece like Yabaselli, who can score, understand his role,
02:02he doesn't hurt you on defense, this is a really good move by the New York Knicks
02:06and a great value signing.
02:07Well, the fact that he can score and he still adds value on the defensive side,
02:12the things you think he steals minutes from Mitch Robb, Mitchell Robinson.
02:16No, I think actually there's ways you can complement and play them together.
02:20He's that perfect forward to play next to Mitchell Robinson.
02:22You can actually play him next to Connty Towns.
02:24I think that's something I like about the versatility.
02:27You know, he'll play a little small ball five.
02:29And I think that's what you're asking.
02:30Can he play at the center position?
02:31He'll play a little bit of that.
02:32You saw that last year.
02:33But I think his best position is the four playing at the power forward.
02:36And I think you'll see him next to the Knicks other two bigs.
02:39But it gives them some versatility.
02:41And I think that's something the Knicks needed.
02:43That's why I loved you asked that question, Brandon.
02:45They needed versatility in terms of their bench, you know, optionality to have off of that bench
02:50in terms of how they can mix and match their bigs along with their wings.
02:53So I love this Yabusele signing.
02:55He was one of my targets.
02:56And I think he'll be a good fit here with the Knick Vodka.
02:59All right.
02:59There's also reports that the Knicks are also going to sign Jordan Clarkson to a veterans minimum deal.
03:05Former six man of the year.
03:07But at 33 years old, he's a little up there.
03:09He's leaving his prime.
03:10So I'm going to ask you the same question.
03:12Key signing for a rotational player or not?
03:16Yeah, I say yes, because it addressed the need that the Knicks had.
03:19The Knicks, as I said, last in bench scoring.
03:22If you watch the Knicks in the playoffs, what's another thing that we saw?
03:24The Knicks, it was laborious for them to score, right?
03:27A lot of ISO ball with Jalen Brunson.
03:30Nobody you really trusted off the bench to handle the ball and create shots.
03:35The Knicks didn't really have that guy.
03:36Campaign was not the answer.
03:37Jordan Clarkson does that.
03:38He is highly efficient in half-court scoring offense off the bench.
03:43He's a guy that can get you a bucket.
03:45He can be efficient in that way.
03:47The knock on him?
03:48Defense.
03:49Not a particularly good defender.
03:51And so that's where you worry.
03:52But can he come in and get you a bucket?
03:54Can he run that second unit?
03:56Yes.
03:56That can be very helpful.
03:57And I think what's interesting in this is with whoever the Knicks decide to go with coaching, will they put Miles McBride in the starting lineup?
04:05Will they move Josh Hart to the bench?
04:06Feels like Hart and Clarkson, former teammates with the Lakers, actually would be better suited to play off the bench to give those guys a spark.
04:14But this is a guy who I love.
04:16He's a walking bucket.
04:17He can score.
04:18He's a professional scorer.
04:19And I think his shot quality, if you look at the numbers, would have been a lot better.
04:23But he played on a bad team in Utah.
04:25So playing with better players around him, where he's not going to have to shoot as often, but can get you those shots off the bench for the Knicks, I think is going to be huge.
04:33So I like this signing on a one-year minimum deal.
04:36Clarkson gets bought out by Utah.
04:38Now the Knicks expected to sign him once he clears waivers today.
04:41I think this is another good move by the Knicks.
04:43So the Knicks, they address two of their needs.
04:44They upgrade their bench.
04:45They get a guy who can score the ball in his hands.
04:47They get a guy in the Ibucele you can stretch the floor.
04:49I think you got to like what the Knicks did here.
04:51I'm laughing inside because only in New York can people get excited about a team signing bench players or rotational players in free agency.
05:00Hey, look, the small pieces matter, right?
05:06If you can't, you're not just going to field a team full of stars.
05:08And we saw this in the NBA Finals, right?
05:10You look at the Thunder.
05:12I know you were watching, Brandon.
05:13You look at the Pacers.
05:14You got to get a lot of good players that can play in different situations.
05:17So where the Knicks are in the development and they got to add pieces to depth.
05:21Yeah, you got to get excited about these bench players.
05:23I'm not saying to go out and have a party.
05:24I'm just saying these players are players that can help you win and help you win possession.
05:29So the Knicks needed that.
05:30They didn't have the depth.
05:31Now they need to play that depth.
05:33That's the key.
05:33All right.
05:34They need to play that depth.
05:35They also need to hire a head coach as well.
05:38There's reports that Mike Brown is getting his second interview and that's going down today.
05:43Does this mean that he's the favorite for the job at this point?
05:49I think it means he's one of the front runners.
05:50You heard that last week from our own Stefan Bondi.
05:54Talked about that, how he'd be one of the front runners along with Taylor Jenkins.
05:57The fact that he's the first to get a second interview.
05:59I know Taylor Jenkins was also expected to get a second interview.
06:02But look, Mike Brown's a good coach.
06:04We did an episode on New York Got Game a couple of weeks ago with myself and Sean Hardy of
06:08Knicks Film School.
06:08And I had Mike Brown on the list of coaches I thought the Knicks should look at.
06:12He's a guy who's a ton of different experience.
06:14Got a raw deal in Sacramento.
06:16I think he learned a lot as an assistant in Golden State under Steve Kerr.
06:20And he evolved his offense.
06:21This is a guy who's known as the defensive coach.
06:23But one thing I think you know about Mike Brown is he's going to play guys, which goes
06:27back to what I talked about before.
06:29He's going to embody the values of having multiple guys play.
06:35He wants to empower guys towards the end of the bench in that depth.
06:38Because where the Knicks are now, Brandon, it's about this team being healthy and ready
06:44for the playoffs.
06:45It's not about playing for the regular season and treating every game like it's Game 7 of
06:50the Finals.
06:51It's about having your stars, your best players, the entire team playoff ready, showing
06:56different combinations.
06:57I think Mike Brown's a guy who can do that.
07:00You know, again, I think he'd be the favorite here.
07:02I think you're getting reports that the Knicks are very impressed what they heard from Mike
07:06Brown.
07:07I think he's a guy who could handle New York and handle the media.
07:10I think that also matters here, too.
07:12But the fact that he's the first to get the second interview, I think it's a really good
07:15sign here.
07:17But we'll see how it plays on after this.
07:18You know, I think Taylor Jenkins will probably get a second interview as well, too.
07:22You also heard reports about James Borrego becoming a candidate that the Knicks are interested
07:26to.
07:27So here's the thing.
07:28I don't know when this is going to happen.
07:30The Knicks are going to be very patient with this.
07:32Leon Rose has been extremely thorough when it comes to hiring.
07:36He took two months, interviewed 11 candidates when he hired Tom Thibodeau.
07:40So I don't know if this process is going to be over soon.
07:42But I think the Knicks know what kind of coach they want.
07:45And Mike Brown, a guy who will play depth, empower others, install his system, I think
07:51he fits the bill of the kind of coach they would want.
07:53It's looking like Leon Rose is going to sign a head coach the day before tip-off, man.
07:58They're not going to do that.
07:59Come on.
08:00Come on, Brandon.
08:00They might as well sign you.
08:01You went through the draft and now the start of free agency with no head coach in place.
08:06You know what?
08:06I'm going to be honest.
08:07I don't think that matters in the way people think.
08:10If it was a younger team or the Knicks had a lot more pieces to add, then I would say
08:15yes, it matters.
08:16But for a team where they are, where they just had to add some vets, they know what kind
08:21of coach they are.
08:21Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown, they come in.
08:23They're going to be fine.
08:24They're going to be fine with the pieces on this roster.
08:26It's about maximizing those pieces, which is what they need the next Knicks head coach
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