The New York Knicks have now completed two of their five-straight road contests, working their way around the West Coast.
The first two contests of the trip came in Los Angeles -- taking on the Clippers and Knicks in back-to-back games -- coming away with two losses.
Both of the Knicks' losses were rather close, though the loss to the Clippers came after Jalen Brunson suffered an ankle injury late against the Knicks.
Not having Brunson against the Clippers posed an obvious problem: there was a lack of playmaking for the Knicks. Their guard play took a massive hit with the superstar suffering an injury that will keep him out for two weeks, at minimum.
While Karl-Anthony Towns, who is dealing with a knee injury himself, will be leaned on more heavily, the squad still needs playmaking.
Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart are all great viable wing options for the Knicks, but the team needs a playmaker to engine the offense, and, with Brunson out for a couple weeks-plus, that'll be harder to come by.
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson operates with the ball as Los Angeles Lakers guard Gabe Vincent defends at Crypto.com Arena on March 6, 2025. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Knicks make roster move after Brunson injury update
Following a loss to the Clippers -- and an updated timeline for Brunson's eventual return -- the Knicks made a roster move and will be bringing help from Westchester.
As the team announced on Saturday, they've called up rookie guard Tyler Kolek from their G League-affiliated Westchester Knicks.
"The New York Knicks Recall Tyler Kolek from the Westchester Knicks," the Knicks announced.
The New York Knicks Recall Tyler Kolek from the Westchester Knicks
— NY Knicks PR (@NY_KnicksPR) March 8, 2025
With Brunson out, Kolek could see the hardwood with some ball-handling and playmaking duties.
In four games with Westchester, the Marquette product averaged 19.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game while converting on 36% of his 3-point attempts.
While the roster move might not move the needle all that much, they need a playmaking lift that Kolek might be able to provide, with a load of the offense falling on Towns' hands down low.
Copyright 2025 Athlon Sports. All rights reserved.
This story was originally published March 8, 2025 at 4:23 PM.