3 Knicks Whose Roles Are Likely to Change in 2026-27

There’s no such thing as constancy in the NBA.

After the 2023 season, the only meaningful change the Knicks made was replacing Obi Toppin with Donte DiVincenzo; a few months later, they'd traded two top-six players for OG Anunoby. After the 2024 season, their only meaningful change was acquiring Mikal Bridges, a trade costing none of their rotation players; a few months later, they'd traded two top-six players for Karl-Anthony Towns.

After the 2026 season, the only seeming change the Knicks have made is replacing Mitchell Robinson with Andre Drummond. While New York will undoubtedly make marginal moves at a minimum between now and the March 1 deadline for playoff rosters, the most meaningful changes are expected to come on the court.

Just because the Knicks are bringing the band back to defend their title doesn’t mean they’ll be playing the same tune.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Based on what changed last spring and last summer, Towns may find his role changing more than anyone’s for the second consecutive season. He was vocal about how challenging those adjustments made the regular season for him, then spent the playoffs looking like a ringer, like this wholly evolved two-way center was just waiting for the right time to show up, show out, and show off. He shot far less often, but with greater accuracy, particularly from deep. His shooting improved because his shot quality did; his shot quality improved because Towns’s role on offense changed from second banana to big cheese.

A 7-footer with KAT’s touch playing point center 25 feet out is a riddle four playoff teams failed to solve 15 times in 16 tries. One reason Towns was able to so thoroughly dominate is that, for a change, he was available to. That’s because he slowed things down. More famous for bulldozer drives that end in offensive fouls, playoff Towns turned to floaters and eurosteps, avoiding the contact.

On defense, he didn’t bite on as many shot fakes; he tripled his block percentage from 1.5 during the season to 4.4 in the playoffs, a rate he hadn’t reached since he was 20 years old. The biggest change in his foul diet was the loose-ball variety: after committing one loose-ball foul every 58 minutes in the 2025 playoffs, he cut it to every 72 minutes this past postseason—a 24% drop.

Unless New York adds another center, the Knicks need Towns to channel playoff KAT as early and often as possible.

Josh Hart

Towns running more offense could impact what the Knicks ask of Josh Hart.

Fortunately for them, there’s nothing Hart can’t do, having proven himself up to the task time and time again all along the box score. Between KAT’s facilitating, the loss of Robinson’s offensive rebounding, and the aforementioned lack of bigs, Hart’s exceptional rebounding will be even more valuable—especially the boards that break teams.

Drummond showed a new element by making three-pointers last year, but he isn’t the threat Towns is, nor does he offer the speed and athleticism Robinson did. That means when he’s in and KAT’s out, the Knicks will look to run and get good looks before defenses can settle in. Hart’s ability to grab a rebound and push out on the break leads to easy buckets and the vast spacing found only in secondary transition.

Mo Diawara

Maybe no Knick has a wider range of possible roles this season than Mo Diawara.

While he might be the team’s most valuable trade chip, the second-year man could also play a crucial role bridging the regular season and playoffs. With the heavy workload borne night after night by Anunoby, Bridges and Hart, and the roster’s tilt toward small guards over wings, there’s an opening for someone who can keep the offense clicking while being part of a lockdown defense.

Diawara made 36.9% of his threes during the 2025-26 season. If he does that again this year and can become an attacking threat versus closeouts, the Knicks won’t miss a beat at a critical position.

If Hart does what he’s always done, the metronome on both ends keeps ticking. If Towns shows last spring was no fluke, but the future? Get the watch parties ready.

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