New York Knicks aren’t seeing the progression in lottery pick Kevin Knox like they should. Knox’s minutes went down with the addition of multiple free agents this off-season. This season his minutes have dropped from 28.8 to 19.4.
The Knicks added Julius Randle, Marcus Morris, Elfrid Payton, Taj Gibson, Reggie Bullock, Bobby Portis and Wayne Ellington. Randle and Morris are the main options when it comes to scoring. In his rookie season, Knox was just that along with Tim Hardaway Jr., after Kristaps Porzingis went down. A tough assignment for a rookie. He averaged 11.2 points at a very below-average 37% shooting.
When drafted, Knox was suppose to become a scoring threat. He’s young, still growing and his game has a lot of upside. The Knicks didn’t draft him to ride the bench. However, the newly acquired players are making it difficult for Knox to grow.
At the beginning of the season, Knox showed signs of progression. He was working in the off-season to be more controlled when driving and sharpening his decision making. His shot appeared to improve but under former coach David Fizdale Knox remained one dimensional.
Now under interim coach Mike Miller, Knox is still under the ‘experimental phase’. Miller is trying to make Knox become more than just a shooter. He wants Knox to work on his cutting, dribble, etc. The 2018 Knicks no. 9 lottery pick has improved his cutting as, at least once a game, he’s seen flying through the air for an alley-oop.
Currently the New York Knicks sit at 10-26 and dead last in the Eastern Conference. Miller insists that all young players are getting the proper amount of time to grow. Fans would beg to differ. Knox needs to be getting more minutes if he is to properly grow into the player the organization wants him to be.
It’s understandable that his minutes would decline if the team was in contention with the new players, however that isn’t the case.
Knox hasn’t played over 20 minutes since December 23rd against Washington. A young second-year player cannot properly grow or develop if they don’t have reasonable time to do so. The team clearly isn’t turning around their season around so a decision needs to be made on whether to go with the younger players, again, or continue the course.
Things may be different for Knox after the trade deadline. The Knicks could deal veteran talent to make room for more minutes for their younger players. We will know the beginning of February.