Kristian Winfield: To change or not to change the Knicks' starting lineup?

NEW YORK — Who is going to start for your 2025-26 New York Knicks?

It’s the question of the week following reports of “internal support” for the Mike Brown-led coaching staff to keep the starting five that nearly saved New York’s Eastern Conference finals run.

With defensive anchor Mitchell Robinson sidelined the first two-thirds of the season recovering from an offseason ankle procedure, Tom Thibodeau went to a starting lineup of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns. Thibodeau, however, was also on record saying he viewed Robinson as the starting center alongside Towns, but with his injury return timeline delayed until late-February, the ex-Knicks coach couldn’t safely insert him into the starting lineup until it was too late: Game 3 in Indiana against the Pacers, who had already stolen the first two games at Madison Square Garden.

This, of course, is no longer Thibodeau’s show; Brown is calling the shots. And Brown, who was tight-lipped about his offensive plans during his introductory press conference, said he wants to play fast with pace and space resembling that of the Golden State Warriors who won three NBA championships in a four-year span. The Knicks were among the slowest teams in basketball last season. Brown’s Kings led the NBA in pace before Sacramento ownership fired him 31 games into last season.

This could be why there’s a conversation about starting lineups. The complex nature of Robinson’s looming contract extension could also play a role.

Robinson and Bridges are on expiring contracts and both are eligible for contract extensions: four years, $156.1 million for Bridges, and four years, $81 million for Robinson. The Knicks, however, can only extend one of the two while keeping the rest of their core intact without becoming a second apron team next season. With Robinson and Bridges extended and no additional moves to dump salary, the Knicks would check in nearly $4 million above the new $222.371 million second apron projection for next season.

A reminder: The Knicks traded not two, not three, but five first-round picks to acquire Bridges, who can walk for nothing next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension. Which makes locking him in long-term top priority at Madison Square Garden — and makes Robinson potentially expendable by the mid-February trade deadline for financial reasons alone.

Perhaps that’s why there’s starting lineup murmurs. Or maybe it’s a need for speed and five-out spacing. The case for Robinson to stay in the starting lineup is clear: The Knicks were a bottom-10 defense with Towns anchoring the paint while Robinson was out, then immediately became a top-10 defense once he returned from his ankle rehab. Robinson covers up for the defensive miscues that forced the Knicks to gun themselves back into games time and time again last season. Removing him from the starting five would turn each game into a track meet, as was the case often last season prior to Robinson’s return from surgery.

It would also remove the last line of defense. Towns struggled mightily as the lone rim protector last season, with more weak side help responsibilities falling to Anunoby and Bridges. Plus the Towns and Brunson metrics were brutal in the playoffs, as the Pacers took turns attacking one or the other until Thibodeau made a substitution.

So what could a starting lineup change look like?

There’s already “internal support” to keep the same starters, according to SNY’s Ian Begley. The Knicks nearly stole the conference finals from the Pacers after Thibodeau made the Robinson-for-Hart switch, and New York would dominate the glass with a pair of seven-footers clogging the paint. It’s hard to see Towns, who makes $53.1 million for the 2025-26 season, Anunoby ($39.6M) or Bridges ($24.9) coming off the bench. There’s no world where Brunson comes off the bench, either.

Robinson did come off the bench after his injury last season, and he was just as impactful in a reserve role as he was in the starting lineup. If Robinson is coming off the bench, however, who would start in his place?

Hart is a candidate if his 3-point shot is falling, but last year he shot it at a 33.3% clip, though it should be noted he’s a 37% 3-point shooter in the playoffs over his last two years.

A Brunson-Miles McBride back court would be small in a league only growing at the guard spot — but McBride is a hound of a defender and a knock-down 3-point shooter. The rising fourth-year guard shot about 37% from deep in both the regular season and the playoffs. Brunson and McBride posted a net rating of plus-6.9 in 693 minutes spent on the floor during the regular season and were plus-9 in 184 minutes in the playoffs. The lineup of Brunson, Towns and McBride was plus-13.4 in 289 minutes last season and virtually broke-even in their time shared in the playoffs.

And here’s an outside the box, unlikely idea: Throw Pacome Dadiet into the fire and figure the rest out on the fly. At 6-7 with a 6-9 wingspan and a near nine-foot standing reach, Dadiet, who the Knicks selected 25th overall in the 2024 NBA draft, has textbook wing size — and a sweet shooting stroke. The second-year Frenchman missed the final three summer league games with a toe sprain but shot 8 of 13 in the summer league opener for 17 points against the Detroit Pistons.

Again, it’s unlikely. After all, Dadiet played approximately zero important minutes last season for the Knicks and spent most of his time in Westchester on G-League assignment.

The Knicks have options. Guerschon Yabusele is one, and starting him at the four keeps Anunoby and Bridges at the two and three, though it’s hard to see a player on a mid-level exception vaulting into the starting lineup on such a talent-rich, costly team.

Then, of course, there’s always the status quo: starting Robinson and Towns to create a size advantage few teams have the personnel to mimic.

Brown and his coaching staff still have months to piece things together, but July is already nearing an end, and August, too, will go by in the blink of an eye. Once September comes around, players will be preparing themselves for training camp and preseason. And when opening night comes, there should be no question as to who is in the Knicks’ starting five — and why Brown chose those men for the job.