The Knicks’ edict from ownership to remain under the second apron, and their subsequent move to pause extension talks for their players, created the impression that backup guard Miles McBride could be the odd man out should the team pursue a backup center on the trade market.

However, McBride’s play over the last few weeks could change that, as he is looking more and more like a potentially integral part of the Knicks’ next playoff run, Jared Schwartz writes for the New York Post.

McBride was averaging 9.2 points on .513/.467/.1000 shooting splits in his last six contests coming into the Knicks’ NBA Cup game against the Pacers on Friday, with his ability to hit contested threes proving a valuable weapon for New York, a team that takes some of the most shots late in the shot clock of any team in the league.

His playing time has increased as a result of his strong play on both ends, and he seems to have the trust of head coach Mike Brown.

Without an extension, McBride will be a free agent next summer.

We have more from the Knicks:

• Mikal Bridges’ struggles to start the season have been widely discussed, and the defensive-minded wing is well aware of how disappointing his play has been. Prior to Friday’s game, he said multiple times that he needed to “look in the mirror” to figure out what was going wrong. “When times get tough, you just gotta own up to it and be better,” he said, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). While the Knicks lost to Indiana, Bridges had his best game of the season, scoring 18 points and hitting two of his four threes.
• One bright spot amidst the Knicks’ disappointing start has been Karl-Anthony Towns, who is playing some of the best basketball of his career. On Friday, he continued his strong play. Despite missing the potential game-tying shot at the buzzer, Towns had 23 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three made threes. In doing so, he surpassed Willis Reed for the longest double-double streak to start a season in franchise history with 12, the Knicks announced (via Twitter).
• The Westchester Knicks have acquired former lottery pick Rob Dillingham in a trade with the Iowa Wolves in a move that was somewhat expected, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (via Twitter). Dillingham was No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 Draft by the Wolves, who traded him to the Bulls last season in the Ayo Dosunmu trade.