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Knicks mailbag: Point guard remains a pressing issue
By Marc Berman
March 28, 2020 | 9:01am
You ask, we answer. The Post is fielding questions from readers about New York?s biggest pro sports teams and getting our beat writers to answer them in a series of regularly published mailbags. In today?s installment: the Knicks.
I?m curious to get your take on the insistence that the Knicks need a great point guard. If we look at all the teams who have won championships recently, point guard play has come from other positions (Draymond Green with the Warriors, LeBron with the Cavs). Shouldn?t the Knicks focus on drafting the best player available? ? Kevin V.
The Knicks need a playmaker/3-point shooter from that position. It?s their No. 1 need. All the top teams have terrific point guards. Look at the Celtics after they added Kemba Walker. Assist machine LeBron James plays point guard, no matter what the Lakers designate him.
It would help RJ Barrett and Kevin Knox immensely. I?d like to see Knox play with a creative setup man. Former Knicks coach David Fizdale put it perfectly: Elfrid Payton, Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr. have positive attributes, but all are mediocre 3-point shooters. Payton had some gems, especially defensively with his quick hands, but his inability to shoot the 3 (20.3 percent) is devastatingly bad. He?s a backup on a decent team.
The 2020 draft isn?t a good one, but there?s a plethora of interesting point guards in the lottery. LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton or Cole Anthony would look good in orange and blue. I also love Kentucky?s Tyrese Maxey as a scorer, though some scouts wonder if he?s a capable-enough playmaker as an NBA point guard.
LaMelo Ball
LaMelo Ball
Getty Images
Considering the Knicks are not a good shooting team and the league has become a shooting-point-guard type of league, why does their best shooter and probably their best ball handler (Allonzo Trier) not play? Did prior management call the shots of him being ignored? ? Todd
Trier falling off the map completely in November became one of the great surprises of the season. I reported after last season that Trier?s teammates didn?t enjoy playing with him because of his selfishness. Fast-forward to training camp in September: Fizdale said Trier?s goal in his second season was shedding his ?IsoZo?? nickname. And Fizdale shocked everyone by starting a Barrett-Trier backcourt on opening night in San Antonio.
Trier?s uncaring defense was an issue. The Knicks faced a shooting-guard glut ? and Trier is undersized at that position. At some point, GM Scott Perry didn?t regard Trier as part of the future. It?s a stunning fall from grace, considering brass was thrilled last season about Trier?s rise from an undrafted rookie on a two-way contract to a two-year, $6.8 million deal.
Is Kevin Knox struggling because he was simply too young to be taken where he was in the draft or is he just not that good? At the very least, he looks too passive on the court to ever be an NBA star, and that is not an age thing. I?m reluctant to say this, but can the Knicks finally label him a bust and just move on? ? Bobby B
No, I think there?s still something there ? and it?s not because of Kentucky coach John Calipari?s rant this week. Knox seems to have a confidence issue more than anything after showing scoring electricity as a rookie. The signing of Marcus Morris may have backfired for the Knicks in the long run. It slammed Knox back to the bench ? and he couldn?t find his mojo.
Submit questions on your favorite New York teams to be answered in an upcoming mailbag
Here?s a stat for you: Nearing the end of his sophomore campaign, Knox still is the 23rd-youngest player in the NBA. Knox has potential to be a solid 3-point shooter and slasher once he gets older, stronger and regains that bravado. He?ll never be a lockdown defender: He doesn?t have strong defensive instincts and his motor is an issue. But Knicks coaches thought he showed improvement on that end, and he started to block shots. He?s also close with Mitchell Robinson. The potential loss of the last 16 games hurts Knox more than any other Knick.
Knicks mailbag: Point guard remains a pressing issue
By Marc Berman
March 28, 2020 | 9:01am
You ask, we answer. The Post is fielding questions from readers about New York?s biggest pro sports teams and getting our beat writers to answer them in a series of regularly published mailbags. In today?s installment: the Knicks.
I?m curious to get your take on the insistence that the Knicks need a great point guard. If we look at all the teams who have won championships recently, point guard play has come from other positions (Draymond Green with the Warriors, LeBron with the Cavs). Shouldn?t the Knicks focus on drafting the best player available? ? Kevin V.
The Knicks need a playmaker/3-point shooter from that position. It?s their No. 1 need. All the top teams have terrific point guards. Look at the Celtics after they added Kemba Walker. Assist machine LeBron James plays point guard, no matter what the Lakers designate him.
It would help RJ Barrett and Kevin Knox immensely. I?d like to see Knox play with a creative setup man. Former Knicks coach David Fizdale put it perfectly: Elfrid Payton, Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr. have positive attributes, but all are mediocre 3-point shooters. Payton had some gems, especially defensively with his quick hands, but his inability to shoot the 3 (20.3 percent) is devastatingly bad. He?s a backup on a decent team.
The 2020 draft isn?t a good one, but there?s a plethora of interesting point guards in the lottery. LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton or Cole Anthony would look good in orange and blue. I also love Kentucky?s Tyrese Maxey as a scorer, though some scouts wonder if he?s a capable-enough playmaker as an NBA point guard.
LaMelo Ball
LaMelo Ball
Getty Images
Considering the Knicks are not a good shooting team and the league has become a shooting-point-guard type of league, why does their best shooter and probably their best ball handler (Allonzo Trier) not play? Did prior management call the shots of him being ignored? ? Todd
Trier falling off the map completely in November became one of the great surprises of the season. I reported after last season that Trier?s teammates didn?t enjoy playing with him because of his selfishness. Fast-forward to training camp in September: Fizdale said Trier?s goal in his second season was shedding his ?IsoZo?? nickname. And Fizdale shocked everyone by starting a Barrett-Trier backcourt on opening night in San Antonio.
Trier?s uncaring defense was an issue. The Knicks faced a shooting-guard glut ? and Trier is undersized at that position. At some point, GM Scott Perry didn?t regard Trier as part of the future. It?s a stunning fall from grace, considering brass was thrilled last season about Trier?s rise from an undrafted rookie on a two-way contract to a two-year, $6.8 million deal.
Is Kevin Knox struggling because he was simply too young to be taken where he was in the draft or is he just not that good? At the very least, he looks too passive on the court to ever be an NBA star, and that is not an age thing. I?m reluctant to say this, but can the Knicks finally label him a bust and just move on? ? Bobby B
No, I think there?s still something there ? and it?s not because of Kentucky coach John Calipari?s rant this week. Knox seems to have a confidence issue more than anything after showing scoring electricity as a rookie. The signing of Marcus Morris may have backfired for the Knicks in the long run. It slammed Knox back to the bench ? and he couldn?t find his mojo.
Submit questions on your favorite New York teams to be answered in an upcoming mailbag
Here?s a stat for you: Nearing the end of his sophomore campaign, Knox still is the 23rd-youngest player in the NBA. Knox has potential to be a solid 3-point shooter and slasher once he gets older, stronger and regains that bravado. He?ll never be a lockdown defender: He doesn?t have strong defensive instincts and his motor is an issue. But Knicks coaches thought he showed improvement on that end, and he started to block shots. He?s also close with Mitchell Robinson. The potential loss of the last 16 games hurts Knox more than any other Knick.