Miles McBride assigned to Westchester Knicks

It wasn’t a matter of if a New York rookie would be assigned to the Knicks’ G League affiliate team this season, but when it would happen. The New York Knicks announced earlier today that Miles McBride was assigned to the Westchester Knicks and would be available for tonight’s game against the Long Island Nets.

McBride, the No. 36 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, has played a total of 4.4 minutes in five games this season and has mostly seen garbage time minutes. The Knicks’ rookie hasn’t seen much playing time on the court through the early stages of the 2021-22 campaign, but should see quality playing time with Westchester.

Marc Berman of The New York Post asked Knicks’ head coach Tom Thibodeau about the rookies (Quentin Grimes, Miles McBride and Jericho Sims) getting opportunities in the G League.

“I like them with us,” Thibodeau said. “When we have opportunities to get them playing time [in the G League] we’ll try to take advantage of that. I also think having substitutes in practice for some of our guys is an important part. The value has to be what’s best for us. We put a lot of time in our player development so they put in work before. I like the thought of [G League] playing time and I love the proximity of it, playing a game and also get back and be with us. We’ll see how it unfolds but right now I need them to be with us.”

It is beneficial for first or second-year players who aren’t seeing seeing much action with their NBA team to get a run with the G League team. Young players see more time on the court, which helps their development and can see what they need to improve on.

Since Westchester became New York’s affiliate in 2014, the Knicks have utilized their affiliate by assigning players to get increased playing time and reps. Former Knicks discussed playing in Westchester and stated how it was beneficial for them. Former Knick Damyean Dotson played in 35.5 minutes per game across 13 games with Westchester as a rookie, which helped him carve out a role on the Knicks the following season.

Westchester will have their home opener tonight at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT. The game will be at 7:00pm on ESPN+.