Jericho Sims: New York Knicks' Breakout Preseason Candidate?

Jericho Sims might have some work to do when it comes to establishing a permanent spot in the New York Knicks' rotation but earned high praise from head coach Tom Thibodeau.

When the New York Knicks take the floor for their preseason opener on Monday night against the Boston Celtics (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG), fans will no doubt marvel at the respective returns of headliners like Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. But the exhibition slate will also serve as an opportunity for familiar faces to convince head coach Tom Thibodeau to widen or adjust his nine-man rotation.

Among those prospects is the 6-foot-10 third-year man Jericho Sims. The second-round pick from the 2021 draft earned some special praise from Thibodeau as the Knicks wrapped up the Charleston portion of their training camp activities on Saturday.

Jericho Sims has a golden opportunity to make a name for himself during the Knicks' upcoming preseason slate / USA TODAY SPORTS

"Jericho has really had a great camp," Thibodeau said of Sims, per Steve Popper of Newsday. "He’s the one guy, obviously coming off the surgery, he had a great summer the way he worked. He’s really done a good job for us."

Sims, who turns 25 in two weeks, played 52 games last season and started 16. Despite a decent output in just over 15 minutes a game (3.4 points, 4.7 rebounds), Sims struggled to establish permanent residency in the aforementioned rotation, which exclusively employed Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein at the five. Sims played only five of 22 games after the All-Star break and 28 of those 43 minutes came in the meaningless penultimate game of the season against New Orleans. As Thibodeau indirectly mentioned, Sims is coming off shoulder surgery that kept him out of the Knicks' 11-game postseason run entirely. 

Robinson and Hartenstein are back but Sims has a golden opportunity to make an impact this time around: with Obi Toppin gone, the Knicks have an echoing void in the depth chart slot behind Randle at the four. Isaiah Roby will probably get first dibs but his Summer League play strongly hinted that he'll need time to work off medical rehab of his own. Josh Hart and even RJ Barrett could also get a crack at it but neither has the combined size or frame of the 6-foot-9, 220-lb. Toppin.

Combined with his 245-lb. frame, however, Sims has a chance to carve a role for himself in New York's set-ups. If Knicks management tries to ration Randle this season ... the two-time All-Star has never been one for load management but that could change considering the way last season ended ... they'll have to deal with the new Player Participation Policy that targets "star" talents. 

Sims carries both the biological and mental requirements to survive as a reserve power forward in a Thiboudeau system. The preseason slate will be a perfect, consequence-free time to prove it.