With the 2020-21 NBA season swiftly approaching, the New York Knicks are headed for what looks like another disastrous season.
The Knicks have some additional pieces to their young core, which is what they needed. The oldest players on the roster are Reggie Bullock and newly acquired Knick, Alec Burks, who are both 29.
This Knicks team has some promising young talent for the future ahead.
Let’s begin with the 2020 draft, which was just a few weeks ago. The Knicks drafted Obi Toppin with their first round pick and drafted Immanuel Quickley as well with their second round pick via trade.
Obi Toppin is claimed to be one of the steals of the draft, with him going higher than many expected he would go. Toppin is a high flying power forward who can do all things on the basketball court, from being able to score down low to shooting the three-ball, and by showing off his insane dunks. Toppin’s pick and roll defense is something he needs to work on, but this rookie has a lot to offer for the Knicks and their future.
Immanuel Quickley is a point guard that the Knicks needs because of his superb shooting ability coming out of college with him being able to create his own shot off the dribble. Quickley’s passing game and defense will come into play with helping out the Knicks.
The new head coach of the New York Knicks, Tom Thibodeau, who is now the 31st head coach in the franchise in which he will establish his defensive-oriented system. The Knicks have been one of the worst defensive teams in the league for the past few years, which is why the team needs Thibodeau.
The last time the Knicks were a defensive-minded team was back in the 2012-13 season where they won 54 games under head coach Mike Woodson who is now back as the assistant coach for the Knicks. The new coaching staff for the Knicks have coaches who specialize in defense. One of their coaches, Kenny Payne, has coached Kevin Knox and Immanuel Quickley who played under Payne when he was one of the associate head coaches for Kentucky. Payne can help further the development of these two players.
RJ Barrett, small forward, is now going into his second season for the Knicks.
Last year was disappointing for Barrett’s rookie season as his scoring ability wasn’t showcased, at least not yet, along with his poor shooting percentages that weren’t in his favor. This season, Barrett is looking to make strides toward his game and improve his scoring output while leading his team to more wins this season. In the Knicks second preseason game against the Detroit Pistons, Barrett finished with 25 points, with the majority of his scoring coming from attacking the paint, which he looked a lot more confident and aggressive in doing so.
Mitchell Robinson, center, is a player that is only going to get better with every season that goes by. Last year was a historic season for Robinson, with it only being his second season where he led the league in field goal percentage shooting 74% from the field, which is now a new NBA record.
This year is Robinson’s chance to take his game to the next level, the only asset that is keeping him away from taking his game to an elite level is him not having a jump shot. There were clips of him shooting three pointers not too long ago. If Robinson can get that jumper down, at least a mid-range shot, he will be one of the top centers and players in this league for a very long time.
It’s players such as Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina who need to become more poised and assertive, just like Barrett, who has to take the next steps into improving his game as well. Knox is heading into his third season now, and Ntikilina is going into his fourth season, and these players don’t have that much time left to improve their game, which is going to get them written off as busts if they don’t start improving soon.
The hiring of Leon Rose as the president of the Knicks is also a big move for this team. Rose knows the game very well and has a plethora of connections. So far, he has made wise managerial decisions for the Knicks as he made the trade to get Quickley and got future draft picks along with acquiring Quickley as well.
Rose’s two draft choices are deemed to be successful picks if Toppin and Quickley can live up to their potential. With acquiring players such as Jacob Evans and Omari Spellman via trade during this free agency along with signing Austin Rivers, Nerlens Noel, and Myles Powell, who is an undrafted rookie coming out of this draft where he shows promise.
The Knicks are in good hands with all their recent moves they have been making. It is about consistency and growth, which is what this team needs right now.
The Knicks have encouraging young talent for the future that is to come, but the team lacks depth and the talent to compete against the majority of the other teams this season. This season is the Knicks’ chance to help get these young players to develop their game and grow with the team so that one day they can be a winning basketball club again.
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