Delon Wright Ready For Different Role With Healthy Knicks

The Wright stuff was the right stuff for the New York Knicks—but only temporarily.

Twenty-eight hours later was quite the difference for Delon Wright: the Knicks' primary trade deadline acquisition stepped into the starting five when Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride, and Cameron Payne were medically sidelined. In five such appearances, Wright averaged 9.6 points, 3.6 assists, and 1.8 steals and the Knicks posted a 4-1 record.

Familiarity is king at this time of year, however, and the Knicks and Wright (as well as fan favorite rookie Tyler Kolek) was back on the outside looking in as New York took down by the Phoenix Suns by a 112-98 final on Sunday. Wright had played just under 30 minutes the day before in Atlanta and put in 10 points and two assists and steals each. He didn't play a minute against the Suns, as Brunson and McBride returned to the metropolitan fold after departures that lasted fifteen and five games respectively.

“I won’t get my hopes up too much,” Wright said about his metropolitan role for the rest of the regular season and the upcoming playoff run, per Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News. “I know it’s a different role with Jalen coming back. The team’s gonna look different, and I’ll have to reinvent a certain role for myself. It’s cool to play extended minutes, but I’m excited to see what we look like healthy. Jalen back, [McBride], Cam, we’ll see.”

No matter how this Knicks season pans out, Wright will undoubtedly go down as one of its heroes off the backwall.

The 10th-year man out of Utah was acquired from the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 6 in exchange for center Jericho Sims. Over his first month-and-a-half in New York, Wright partook in 21 garbage time minutes before getting a dozen when Payne went down during March 26's loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Such a vital contributor to the Knicks' late surge is now facing the dreaded "DNP-CD" initials for the Knicks' playoff showings. Per Winfield's report, however, Wright has appeared to make peace with his fate and is grateful for the opportunity.

“I always thought I could step up and do what I’m doing, but you never know," Wright said, per Winfield. "I could lose confidence in my shot. It could go in different ways. So it was good to remind myself I could still compete and contribute to winning basketball.”

This week could grant some extra chances for Wright: the Knicks are either a win or an Indiana Pacers loss away from their postseason fate being sealed in the Eastern Conference's third slot. The seemingly-inevitable clinch affords the Knicks an opportunity to cut the workload of their weary starters and let deep reserves like Wright, Kolek, and more run the clock on the regular season out.

In any event, the Knicks' headliners appreciate what Wright has contributed as is.

“He’s been fantastic, and we expect nothing less from him,” All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns said, per Winfield. “He’s been doing that his whole career. He’s built for these moments, and he puts the work in. It’s a testament to his professionalism and who he is as a player.”

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