Josh Hart is in, but Miles McBride and, to a lesser extent, Quentin Grimes appear to be out.
In the first look at the Knicks’ lineup after the trade deadline, which featured the newly acquired Hart in his team debut Saturday night, head coach Tom Thibodeau benched McBride for the 126-120 win over the Jazz at the Garden.
McBride did not play, while Grimes did not step on the court in the fourth quarter, with Hart playing the entire last period.
Hart was quietly excellent, doing a little of everything (11 points, seven rebounds, four assists, four steals) while showing he already deserves Thibodeau’s trust.
The Knicks had whittled down their rotation to nine beginning in early December, when McBride, who had played in 35 straight games before Saturday, solidified a spot and Derrick Rose and Evan Fournier lost theirs.
Adding Hart, whom the Knicks acquired from the Trail Blazers and whom Thibodeau felt comfortable immediately inserting into the group, shook up the rotation.
“Those things are tough, but you always have to do what’s best for the team,” Thibodeau said before the game about the rotation decision. “What makes the team function best, and we’ll go from there.”
McBride, an aggressive defender off the bench, had been used in spurts, averaging 15.1 minutes per game since entering the rotation. McBride’s weakness has been his 3-point shot. He was shooting 28.8 percent from beyond the arc in 45 total games.
The Knicks’ starting lineup — Jalen Brunson, Quentin Grimes, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle and Jericho Sims — went unchanged. Hart, Immanuel Quickley and Isaiah Hartenstein entered late in the first quarter, and Obi Toppin entered in the second quarter.
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The Knicks’ closing lineup, though, included Hart, who seemed to grab every loose ball. Grimes, a top-notch defender, scored one point on 0-for-3 shooting in 22 minutes.
The deadline trade that imported Hart, and exported Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono and Svi Mykhailiuk, opened two roster spots.
The Knicks will have to add players by March 1 to ensure they are eligible for the postseason.
“We’ll see who’s available, what makes the most sense for us,” Thibodeau said.
What kind of player might the Knicks seek?
“Good player,” Thibodeau said. “That’s my bias.”
Saturday represented the first time Hart and Randle had played alongside each other since April 11, 2018, when Hart was finishing up his rookie season with the Lakers. Randle, who was at the end of his fourth season, signed with the Pelicans in July 2018.
“He’s just versatile, man,” Randle said Friday of Hart, whom he said he “loves.”
“He does a lot of different things to help you win games. He can score 20. He can get steals, guard the best player, rebound, takes charges. Just does a little bit of everything.”
