While much of the post-championship celebrations, the fanfare of the offseason, the roster moves, and their subsequent reactions have died down, one New York Knicks player and his future remain very much in flux.
Deuce McBride, coming off a humbling Finals that saw him struggle offensively, has been involved in some trade rumors due to the uncertainty of his extension. But while fans and reporters have pondered potential trades and have lamented his postseason performance, some have forgotten just
how good and valuable McBride has been.
Gone are the days when every team’s best bench players are just prolific microwave scorers. McBride never has, and likely never will put up the kind of shot volume or record the sort of counting stats that garner traditional Sixth Man of the Year considerations. But the former West Virginia Mountaineer is a true “if you know, you know” ball player. In fact, he’s probably one of the more useful names in gauging an NBA fan’s knowledge of true winning basketball players and the non-star analytical darlings of the league. Yet, he wasn’t always like that.
While McBride has become one of the more constant and stable rocks of this Knicks team, it wasn’t even that long ago that he was an afterthought on the bench. Stuck behind franchise star Jalen Brunson and fan favorite Immanuel Quickley, McBride began his career racking up DNPs and spending many a night putting on a Westchester Knicks jersey. Like so many players in the rotation, he strived to be in, though McBride never quit. He didn’t ask for a trade. He didn’t pout. Instead, he just worked tirelessly on his game. And the biggest example of just how far he’s come can be seen in his jump shot. While it was notably a major weakness of his early on in his career, the high release, high-arcing shot has now become a signature skill of his.
Some of the credit also belongs to the front office. McBride put in the work, but the front office didn’t just stumble into the now backup guard by accident. They drafted him, believed in his development, and his presence was reportedly one of the reasons the Knicks felt comfortable parting ways with the aforementioned Quickley. It’s true that Quickley’s impending free agency and the Knicks’ reluctance to pay him were a big factor. As was the fact that the front office viewed OG Anunoby as the quintessential role player to put next to Brunson. But New York had the utmost confidence that they had a capable bench guard in McBride to fill in after Quickley’s departure.
And that’s exactly what he did. Now, he isn’t the playmaker or scorer Quickley is. There’s a chance that McBride never gets there. But his much improved catch-and-shoot ability combined with his elite point-of-attack defense quickly turned him into an irreplaceable piece of the Knicks’ puzzle. He, much like Anunoby but in a much smaller package, was the kind of defender and shooter that could play with anyone in any system. A kin to the reserve guard he replaced, the fans quickly grew to adore him, resulting in the now-famous Deuuuuce chant that can be heard even in road arenas.
What made McBride an anomaly, though, was the almost unthinkably team-friendly deal he was on. As the rest of the league and its analysts caught on, he became a mainstay on numerous lists. McBride’s name would show up on the most valuable contracts in the league and best bench players in the league list, amongst others, all while continuing to improve. He was starting some games, closing a lot of games, and regardless of where and when he played, the results were often positive. Very positive. So much that it became hard to find a Knicks lineup with a good net rating that didn’t have his name on it.
McBride has had an interesting last couple of years, though. He was rumored to be one of the most vocal supporters of moving on from Tom Thibodeau- a very controversial decision at the time-although that hasn’t been fully confirmed. And he’s been relatively injury-prone during that time. Then there’s the aforementioned Finals performance where his shot had left him and his dribbling, or lack thereof, was put on full display against an incredibly physical and aggressive Spurs perimeter defense. Evaluating McBride on that series alone, and not the multiple seasons of excellent play, is unfair, especially when factoring in the injury he recently revealed he was still dealing with in that series. But all of that has put him and, quite frankly, the Knicks, in an interesting dilemma.
The Knicks are clearly better with McBride on their roster than without him. And as of now, he remains one of the most impactful bench players in the league, who also happens to be on one of the best contracts in the league. Barring an unexpected extension, he’s going to hit free agency where the Knicks will likely lose him for nothing. But if New York’s priorities are to win another championship, they should risk that and ride out the year with him regardless of how flawed his offense can look against the elite defenses. But there’s also a possibility they try to prioritize finding another center mid-season by shipping out the backup guard.
Regardless of what ends up happening though, it’ll be nice to start the season with McBride. And a fully healthy version of him at that. He’s a damn good player, and he’s now the longest-tenured Knick with Mitchell Robinson up north in Boston. It may very well be his last season in New York, so cherish it and celebrate just how far he’s come.
Here’s to Deuce McBride. Happy 26th birthday, champ!
