Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau says Kemba Walker won’t see action unless he’s a starter

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NEW YORK — Tom Thibodeau warned that “more changes could be coming” to his rotation if the Knicks keep failing, but he’s willing to give this iteration more time following Saturday’s ugly defeat to the Nuggets.

What that means for Kemba Walker is more DNPs as the coach indicated he won’t play the four-time All-Star unless he’s starting.

“As I mentioned before when I made that decision; I view Kemba as a starter,” Thibodeau said after Walker’s second straight healthy DNP.

Walker was yanked from the rotation because of the starting lineup’s struggles and his defensive deficiencies. Thibodeau said he was tightening his rotation but gave spot minutes to Kevin Knox and Quentin Grimes the last two games.

Walker has been on the bench cheering on his teammates. He hasn’t spoken to the media since the demotion, and apparently giving him bench minutes is a nonstarter.

“I do have respect for him, he’s part of the team,” Thibodeau said. “And right now we have a rotation, he’s not in the rotation but he’s working in practice, he’s doing all the things he should be doing.”

The Knicks (11-12) have dropped three straight and fell to under-.500 for the first time this season. They had about $50 million in cap space to upgrade the roster over the summer but the front office’s moves are being called into question.

According to multiple sources, Thibodeau lobbied to re-sign Reggie Bullock, who instead joined the Mavericks for three years, $30.5 million.

“If the intensity’s right and the execution’s not right and it’s not working, then you change [the rotation],” Thibodeau said. “So those are the two things, when you look at decision-making. And then you gather more information. Sometimes, if a decision’s not right, then you make another decision. You gather the information, study it and you look at it objectively. … If we’re not performing well, look, there may be more changes coming. I like our group, I like the way they approach it. We all put our stuff together. We’ve got to focus together and we’ve got to work our way out of it together. That’s the way it is.”

Barrett back

RJ Barrett returned from an illness that had him vomiting during a game four days earlier.

“I was messed up,” Barrett said about Tuesday’s defeat at Barclays Center. “I kept running back and throwing up. So, I just had to shut it down for a couple of days. … That’s why I kept running back to the locker room.”

Barrett managed just eight minutes against the Nets and sat Thursday’s loss to the Bulls. He struggled in Saturday’s 113-99 home loss to the Nuggets, continuing his poor shooting trend from beyond the arc (he was 1 for 7 on 3s).

Barrett is shooting under 32% on treys after connecting on over 40% last season. Thibodeau said the 21-year-old should get back in the gym.

“You get rhythm when you work and last year he got going when he started coming in every night to shoot,” the coach said. “So there’s no notion of, ‘OK, I’ll do it sometimes.’ No, you got to do it all the time. When you did it, you shot 40 from 3. So get back in the gym, get back to improving your shot.”