Is Jericho Sims' Future With New York Knicks?

With Mitchell Robinson out, Sims has been thrust back into the spotlight, going from the 12th-man unit to the starting five overnight. Sims has started each of the past five games but has pulled in only 2.8 rebounds in that spin and his minutes have progressively dwindled in favor of Isaiah Hartenstein. The bottom fell out on Monday in Los Angeles, as Sims appeared in only three minutes of the Knicks 114-109 win over the Lakers. 

A late injury may have played a role in that, as Sims is listed as questionable for the Knicks' Wednesday tilt against the Brooklyn Nets (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG). But traditional and advanced stats are rather damning for Sims' continued work in blue and orange, as documented by numbers expert Tommy Beer:

Beer's analysis hints at an uncomfortable truth for Sims, whose work ethic and physical attributes can't be denied. But it's clear that Sims isn't adequately filling the minutes that Robinson vacated, which doesn't exactly vindicate the faith Thibodeau had in him when he made the decision to have his name called by Mike Walczewski before each Madison Square Garden game.

“We’re not going to change (our) style of play," Thibodeau noted upon Robinson's injury, per Zach Braziller of the New York Post. "A lot of the things Mitch does Jericho does as well. With Isaiah, it’s different. I like having that flexibility. It’s two different looks, a center who can play away from the basket and open things up.”

Thibodeau's commitment to 48-minute depth is admirable and well-documented: any team that has Hartenstein and Immanuel Quickley working in relief is going to at least linger in important games. 

But getting off to a good start is vital in the top-heavy Eastern Conference: the Knicks are 12-2 when they lead after the opening period and 3-9 otherwise. Until Robinson heals (which won't be until February at the earliest), the Knicks are better off opening with Hartenstein and either giving Sims a fighting chance for his future off the bench or investing in another veteran from abroad (such as the recently released Kenneth Lofton Jr.). 

Thibodeau, already apparently wary of trusting younger talents with major minutes in this monumental season of his Knicks tenure, has kept Sims out of his nine-man rotation when Robinson is healthy, refusing to budge on the two-tower set alongside Hartenstein. It's thus fair to wonder what, if any, future Sims has with the organization. Those questions will only intensify with Taj Gibson, one of Thibodeau's most loyal disciples, back in tow. 

While there's realistic debate around the future of every member of the Knicks' roster not named Jalen Brunson, Sims' fate seems relatively sealed, perhaps included in the seemingly inevitable needle-pushing trade for a superstar or even a sweetener in a deadline deal that improves the Knicks' immediate fortunes.