Why shouldn’t we give Ignas Brazdeikis the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his professional basketball career with the New York Knicks?
As a second-round pick with first-round talent, Brazdeikis was one of the more intriguing players from the 2019 NBA draft. His offensive skills could have provided more production for any given team, but the Knicks desperately needed his ability to attack the rim and put points on the board.
However, the Knicks are inadequate, and that likely won’t change next season despite their continuing efforts to drag themselves out of the dark ages. James Dolan seems keen on keeping them locked in the dungeon while their next-door neighbors in the Brooklyn Nets thrive.
The New York Knicks are trending up!
For the sake of optimism, though, there is plenty of talent on the Knicks to eventually develop into a quality team. They signed multiple veterans this off-season to bolster the starting roster and help win more than 17 total games. Some have mentioned the idea of playoffs, but that word has been axed from the dictionary when it comes to Knicks fans and their hopes.
Maybe, Brazdeikis can give us a little more proof of progression along with first-round selection, RJ Barrett. The last two off-season‘s have been looking up for the Knicks. While Kevin Knox had an all-time lousy rookie campaign, he has the potential to develop into a solid player and second-round pick, Mitchell Robinson, can be a star in the NBA.
Despite the Knicks failing to lure superstars like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to the Mecca of basketball, they have a solid foundation of youth they continue to build upon.
Brazdeikis is undoubtedly part of that exciting young core, as he was the first player to score 30 points in this year‘s Summer League campaign. At just 20 years old, he can be an impact player for the Knicks. He played only one season at Michigan and declared for the draft, which gives us a good idea of what he is capable of. He averaged 14.8 points and 5.5 total rebounds per game on .392% shooting from beyond the ark in 2018.