The Summer League has to be the single most deceiving event of the year. More-so than the rumor mill or any other confusing scenario you might find yourself in while basketball is working its way through the intricacies of the offseason. The New York Knicks are no exception to the optimism-bait.
What do I mean by that?
The Summer League does not predict the potential or even success of any given player. I’ll give you three examples right off the bat — Kevin Knox, Trae Young, and I’m willing to bet RJ Barrett will/has had illusionistic offseason performances.
Knox looked solid in 2018’s Summer session but put up historically bad numbers in his first regular season. This year, he looked solid again, but there’s no saying he will continue that streak into the 2019-20 campaign. The reality is, he will likely struggle again in some areas and the Knicks signing veteran forward Marcus Morris will not help in his development.
If the Knicks were keen on taking essential playing time away from their youth, they did a great job this offseason, signing multiple players that will start immediately and force younger options with potential to the bench. The logic is sound, however, as the competition should theoretically bring the best out of every player, and the fans can only sit through self-induced pain for so long.
The draft was meant for Zion Williamson to come to New York and change the course of the franchise, but Barrett won the lottery instead (pun intended).
What will the New York Knicks do to ensure they don’t stunt the growth of their youth?
In relation to Knox, the Knicks have put a mountain in the form of Morris and Julius Randle right in front of him and asked him to climb it. Now, unless the second-year player adapts to the small forward role and develops a perimeter shot and a more trustworthy three, he could be buried on the depth chart by mid-season.
If the Knicks were looking to see if there was any resemblance of a premium player hidden in the Mariana Trench that’s Knox’s strength in the paint, they only put themselves further away. Hopefully, the competition they injected into the position will help Knox extract his potential — that would be the best-case scenario.
Another interesting thought would be: Knox could become a great rotational player off the bench, for the time being, pushing the court and utilizing his speed to take advantage of fatigued defenders. While this would see his role reduced, it would still allow him to make an impact in some facet.