Sochan seeks footing with the Knicks, struggling to find minutes and impact.
Jeremy Sochan left the San Antonio Spurs looking for a fresh start, but four games into his time with the New York Knicks, the 22-year-old forward is still searching for his footing on a team that has big plans for the postseason.
After a 109-94 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 24, Sochan spoke to The New York Post's Stefan Bondy and kept things simple.
"It's a process. It's my fourth game here," Sochan said. "So we'll figure it out. We'll be good."
It was the kind of answer you would expect from a young player who knows he has not played well but is not ready to panic just yet, and through four games in New York, Sochan is averaging just 1.0 point, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 7.5 minutes per night, which is a long way from the player who averaged 11.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game for the Spurs back in 2023-24.
A Change of Scenery That Hasn't Changed Much
Sochan chose the Knicks over nine other teams after the Spurs waived him because he wanted to escape a bench role that kept shrinking under head coach Mitch Johnson.
He dyed his hair blue and orange, showed up full of energy, and talked about the defensive toughness he planned to bring.
But two weeks in, the Knicks' bench is starting to feel a lot like the one he left in San Antonio.
His debut against Detroit saw him log just 10 minutes, and in the Cleveland loss he played only two minutes in the first half before sitting until garbage time.
It has not helped that fellow newcomer Jose Alvarado has made a much faster adjustment, already averaging 9.4 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.0 steals and looking like a natural fit right away.
Will Sochan Be Part of the Playoff Rotation?
The good news is that New York is not in any rush.
The Knicks sit at 37-22, holding the third seed in the Eastern Conference, with Jalen Brunson leading the way at 26.7 points and 6.1 assists per game and Karl-Anthony Towns doing the heavy lifting on the glass.
Head coach Mike Brown has said he wants to give Sochan a real chance at backup power forward minutes, pointing to his size and defensive versatility as the main reasons the front office wanted him.
But right now, Sochan is behind Mohamed Diawara on the depth chart, and the Knicks' starting five has the sixth-best net rating among lineups that have played over 200 minutes together.
With Alvarado and Landry Shamet already providing scoring punch off the bench, there is not a clear opening unless Sochan earns one.
He was waived before March 1, so he is eligible for the postseason, but eligibility and playing time are two very different things.
If Sochan can tap into even a little of the defensive energy that made him a starter for three years in San Antonio, the Knicks will have gotten a steal off the buyout market.
If the struggles continue, he could be watching from the end of the bench when the games start to matter most.