Knicks Mailbag: Why is Andre Drummond in Mike Brown's doghouse?

It's another edition of Knicks Mailbag, with SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley answering your questions surrounding the team. Let's get started...

Why is Andre Drummond, the star of the first game of the season, all of a sudden being benched as the KAT backup? - @NBAStatCorrect

I don't know, specifically, why Drummond was benched against Orlando on Sunday. But Mike Brown hinted at the reasons behind his decision before the game when he was asked why James Wiseman was playing in place of Drummond against Boston.

"We have our starting five. Other than that, anybody can play," Brown said before tipoff against Orlando. "When you're a backup in this league, that doesn't mean you're always gonna be the seventh man or you're always gonna be the eighth man. No, no, no, no, no, no. It's competitive. And it's less so with the starting group if your starting group is established, which ours is, but everybody else after that starting five, I can throw in front of the next guy in a heartbeat."

Brown then referenced the Knicks' standards, which are spelled out in a document signed by all staffers.

"We will make sure that everybody embraces (those standards), not just accepts (them)," Brown said.

Clearly, Drummond violated one of those standards at some point between the first half of the Sixers game (when he was great) and late in the first half against the Celtics.

Drummond presumably violated one of New York's agreed-upon standards in the first half on Sunday when Brown pulled him in favor of Wiseman. The substitution happened after Drummond was beat down the floor in transition by Wendell Carter Jr.

After the game, Brown explained that he plans to use Drummond in "spurts" as opposed to long stretches.

"He played well for us in (the game against the Sixers) and I kept him out there, and it was the wrong thing to do. So for me, I'm going to play him in bursts, whether it's three minutes, four minutes, five minutes, six minutes, but he'll be in bursts," Brown said. "I felt our transition wasn't good during that time (when Drummond was subbed out for Wiseman against Orlando), not just because of him, but I wanted to go with a change. Wiseman's been playing well in practice. I wanted to give him an opportunity and I thought his first stint, he was pretty good. And so I decided to go with him a second stint (in the second half against the Magic). But Andre will go out there as a backup (Tuesday night against Detroit). But again…our starting five is what it is, but everybody else after that, you know, until we can find something where we're consistent, I'm gonna try to give guys opportunities."

Brown's approach with Drummond is noteworthy for many reasons. One is that Drummond was brought in to replace Mitchell Robinson, who signed with the Celtics over the summer while the Knicks voluntarily capped themselves at the second apron in team salary.

Drummond is a veteran and I'd expect him to bounce back and remain in Brown's rotation. If I'm wrong and Brown continues to take Drummond in and out of his rotation, the Knicks' decision to let Robinson go will come under more scrutiny. Maybe even without second apron constraints, the Knicks wouldn't have offered Robinson the deal he ended up signing with the Celtics (three years, $47 million with a player option in Year 3). But they still needed to adequately replace him once he left. That's why Drummond's performance – and role – will be noteworthy during this early portion of the season.

Ian, can this notion that our starting 5 is so locked in actually be a negative connotation to the greater group? No matter if one of them is literally the worst person on the floor (-23 last night)? How does that actually motivate the group? We can't keep living in the past. - @JaredEummer

This is an interesting point and one worth considering. But in the Knicks' case, I don't see an obvious lineup change. Do you replace Josh Hart in the starting lineup with Landry Shamet ? Do you replace Mikal Bridges with Shamet or Miles McBride ? There is no obvious fix here. But I understand Jared's larger point. You certainly don't want the starters to have a sense of entitlement about their role.

Is there a bad vibe in the locker room towards James Dolan currently with the lack of contract extensions/the second apron/ring phishing/political distractions? - @theslim3

I don't know. I haven't heard of anything. Obviously, Karl-Anthony Towns has made his frustration known re: the extension. But from what I've heard, Towns has maintained a very professional approach early on. In other words, any frustration he has with the situation hasn't impacted how he shows up to work. Are the assistant coaches upset over reportedly not having rings at the ceremony? I don't have any insight there, either. The report from The Athletic noted that Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coaches also did not receive their rings on ring night. In checking around, assistant coaches for the three champions prior to OKC did receive their rings on ring night.

What is an acceptable time frame for a "championship hangover?" - @Mario4eva1118

Haha. I don't think the Knicks want to use the championship as an excuse for their 0-3 start. But several players have referenced the idea that all of the praise over the summer is impacting their play early in the season. Jalen Brunson has said several times that the first couple of weeks of the season will tell him a lot about the Knicks. He says this because he knows that, as defending champs, the Knicks will get everyone's best shot every night. He also knows that it's human nature for people to let their foot off the gas, so to speak, when they receive constant praise and adulation.

"Everyone has been telling us what a great job we did, how fun it was, what we did for the city, the constant praise (for winning the title)," the Knicks captain said. "So now we need the opposite."

My two cents: let's see where the Knicks are on Dec. 1. They have enough talent and shared success to win a lot of games in the regular season. If they are hovering around or under .500 on Dec. 1, it means something is off.