Miles “Deuce” McBride is a cool customer. If he feels any sort of pressure to prove himself with the opportunity to solidify the back-up point guard role, you’d never know it from speaking with him.
“I can’t decide who’s given what minutes and who’s going to step into what role,” McBride told ClutchPoints. “But I can control how I take care of my business.”
Could Miles McBride be the Knicks backup point guard?
McBride has performed fine for the Knicks whenever he's taken the floor as a reserve guard, and he could have more minutes coming his way as a result of New York's recent trade for OG Anunoby. In the two games since Immanuel Quickley was dealt to the Toronto Raptors as part of the deal, McBride has played a total of 17 minutes, which speaks to head coach Tom Thibodeau’s preference to give his stars a heavy workload as much as it does his lack of familiarity with McBride.
But there have been some signs of hope for McBride in his quest to earn more minutes. He hit an important three in the first half of Wednesday night's win over the Chicago Bulls, and shortly after that, he drew a charge to stop a Bulls fast break.
But it’s McBride’s attitude that’s inspired hope among those closest to the third-year guard. The maturity and work ethic demonstrated in that five-second sound bite mentioned above says so much about his character and approach to the game.
Watching McBride warm-up — and rise up above the rim time and again — it’s difficult to understand why he hasn’t received a chance thus far. But in standing next to him, it becomes clearer. He’s generously listed at six-foot two-inches, but he’s realistically closer to six-feet tall.
What has Miles McBride done for the Knicks so far?
Looking at McBride’s career summary, you’d be excused for being unimpressed. Some of that has to do with inherent limitations, and some of it has to do with the fact that he was a second-round pick who was taken 36th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. To put it differently, if his head coach isn’t smitten with him, his front office is certainly not encouraging the coach to give him a longer look, simply because no one’s neck is on the line over a second rounder.
Ultimately, professional basketball is not without bureaucracy. And as far as that is concerned, there are two major things to understand — the guaranteed deals that go along with first-round picks mean they’ll usually get more opportunities, and you’re in a better place if you’re currently playing for the coach and front office under which you joined a team.
But McBride has managed to stick around New York since the 2021-22 season for two reasons, too. The first has to do with the affordability of his deal. The other has to do with how tenaciously he defends and how willing he is to accept any assignment.
“I mean, I think that just going out there and doing whatever I can in whatever minutes I’m given,” McBride said. “That’s the main thing I’m worried about.”
Could Miles McBride be on the move?
That affordability factor might not work in McBride’s favor for too much longer, though. McBride recently agreed to a three-year, $13 million extension to remain with the Knicks.
Now, no one’s insinuating that a three-year, $13 million deal is significant in NBA terms, but it’s noteworthy for a different reason. In a major stroke of irony, that very deal might end up being his ticket out of New York. Why? Because, while it's insignificant relative to an NBA team’s payroll, it represents currency that can be swapped in future deals — and when that contract is for a 23 year-old, defensive minded guy who understands his role, it becomes an in-demand contract that teams could look to add to their books.
But the Knicks might be wise to wait on trading McBride. Sure, he’s struggled a bit as the primary back-up to Jalen Brunson. But he’s shown flashes of his potential.
In addition to his above-average defensive instincts, he also connects on an impressive number of his three-pointers (40.9 percent so far this season) — when he’s willing to launch them, that is. McBride is shooting only one three-point shot per game this season.
But that very skill, which is obviously scalable, can be relied on to strategically — and situationally — space the floor, which is an extremely valuable commodity to have in today’s NBA. Even more importantly, McBride is currently connecting on 44 percent of his corner three-point attempts, a favorite of analytics-minded coaching staffs.
Granted, McBride has had a tough time finding his place on this team so far. His season high for points is only five, and his season-high for assists is just three. Sure, he’s averaging a career low 0.1 turnovers per game — which translates to 0.3 per 36 minutes played — but he’s also receiving just 5.4 minutes per game, which is a career low.
Could Miles McBride see extended minutes for the Knicks?
Currently, McBride is the only backup point guard on the Knicks roster who’s active. To be fair, Malachi Flynn, who joined the Knicks in the aforementioned Anunoby trade, is a point guard, but he is currently nursing a calf injury.
Flynn is a fourth-year guard who is averaging 5.1 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.1 rebounds in about 15 minutes of action per game this year — which is a more impressive body of work that McBride’s.
Not that McBride is better than Flynn — or vice versa — but cohesion should play a role in Thibodeau’s rotations. Simply put, McBride understands New York's offensive philosophy and what’s expected of him.
Furthermore, it’s not as if the Knicks need copious minutes out of a back-up point guard. As mentioned above, Thibs leans heavily on his star players, and this season is no different. Brunson is averaging a career-high 35.9 minutes per game, which is sure to increase — at least marginally — for the next few games as he figures out his rotations.
And no one is suggesting that McBride should be handed a primary back-up spot. We’re simply hoping that we get a deeper look at him to understand what he can be. After all, we’ve waited more than three seasons to see his fit. Now that there’s an open spot, let’s finally see what he can do.
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