Last season, the New York Knicks' main problem was depth after they had to manage their cap situation after they were hard-capped at the first apron following their blockbuster acquisition of Karl-Anthony Towns. But this year, the Knicks aren't subject to such a restriction. As a result, they managed to beef up the team's depth with the addition of Jordan Clarkson, who is just one of a few players they added to bolster the squad.
The Knicks' addition of Clarkson is set to reunite him with Josh Hart, two former Los Angeles Lakers players who shared the same locker room during the 2017-18 season until Clarkson was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. And Hart, who's always supportive of his teammates (in different ways, of course), reacted perfectly on Instagram to seeing Clarkson officially be in a Knicks uniform during media day ahead of the start of early training camp.
Josh Hart on Jordan Clarkson in Knicks uniform: “Aura” pic.twitter.com/KJAka8Zs7s
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) September 23, 2025
The Knicks were one of a few teams to start media day early ahead of an early start to training camp in preparation for their overseas games to begin their preseason journey. They will be kicking off proceedings in preseason with a clash against the Philadelphia 76ers in Abu Dhabi, so it should not be long until fans get to see Clarkson in action in a Knicks uniform.
Clarkson is going to be very helpful in managing the Knicks starters' workloads and offensive burden; he is a former Sixth Man of the Year award winner, and he can heat up in a hurry — reducing some of the pressure on Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns to lead the offense.
And Clarkson, after getting stuck on a rebuilding team for the past three seasons, is finally getting another chance to play for a contending team while looking good in a Knicks uniform in the process.
Jordan Clarkson headlines the Knicks' much-improved depth
Last year, the Knicks were barely running a seven-man rotation (Brunson, Towns, Hart, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Mitchell Robinson, Miles McBride) with the occasional appearance from the likes of Landry Shamet, Cam Payne, and Precious Achiuwa.
But this year, they can run a nine-man rotation with confidence. Robinson and McBride are still around to lead the bench mob, but now, they have Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele as well to provide quality minutes. Perhaps even Malcolm Brogdon could find himself undergoing a career revival. And with the Eastern Conference being as wide-open as it is, the Knicks may be positioned to have an even better season than they did last year.
