I don't share many people's enthusiasm for Knox. I think he's an excellent athlete with skills who will get better as the season progresses, but I don't see him as a major contributor early on. He shot 35% so far in Summer League and, yesterday I saw him dribble into a group of defenders and fall down - two separate times. I don't know how many turnovers he's accumulated, but he's had a lot. He's young and will get much better, but he's got a long way to go. I love his athleticism and he has some skill, but he needs a lot of work and coaching before he can even be a good starter.
Stevo718 wrote:TheGame wrote:Robinson is going to be a high quality defensive center. Frank, KP, Knox, and Robinson with Hardaway is going to be rock solid in 2 years.
I agree except I can’t see us winning with THJ in our future hope we trade him too streaky and too expensive.
Worst case though is Hardaway is a very good 6th man who can win you some games when he gets hot. He absolutely has value and can be a major contributor to a good team in this role, even if he never improves.
CrushAlot wrote:Ira wrote:I don't share many people's enthusiasm for Knox. I think he's an excellent athlete with skills who will get better as the season progresses, but I don't see him as a major contributor early on. He shot 35% so far in Summer League and, yesterday I saw him dribble into a group of defenders and fall down - two separate times. I don't know how many turnovers he's accumulated, but he's had a lot. He's young and will get much better, but he's got a long way to go. I love his athleticism and he has some skill, but he needs a lot of work and coaching before he can even be a good starter.
He's the shit.
If you go back and look at him in nov/dec and look at him now, the vast improvement is crazy. I just hope the knicks signed bease because fatigue is going to play a major factor
knicks1248 wrote:CrushAlot wrote:Ira wrote:I don't share many people's enthusiasm for Knox. I think he's an excellent athlete with skills who will get better as the season progresses, but I don't see him as a major contributor early on. He shot 35% so far in Summer League and, yesterday I saw him dribble into a group of defenders and fall down - two separate times. I don't know how many turnovers he's accumulated, but he's had a lot. He's young and will get much better, but he's got a long way to go. I love his athleticism and he has some skill, but he needs a lot of work and coaching before he can even be a good starter.
He's the shit.
If you go back and look at him in nov/dec and look at him now, the vast improvement is crazy. I just hope the knicks signed bease because fatigue is going to play a major factor
Heard he was a fantastic defender in high school as well as having the offensive game. Great pick.
I am eagerly waiting to see the fantastic defense. This ain't no high school no more.
meloshouldgo wrote:I am eagerly waiting to see the fantastic defense. This ain't no high school no more.
Pretty sure it was Kevin O'connor talking about his defense. Here is his profile as a freshman based on high school performance.
DEFENSE
Length makes him good, versatile defender on any perimeter oriented player.
On-ball defensive first reaction is really quick, especially considering his long legs. Mirrors offensive player’s first step well.
Length and feel combine to make him a good defensive rebounder, as well as a grab-and-go threat.
Smart, good feel on defense in general. Doesn’t over help like many his age do. Finds himself in the right position often to create steal or rotating to contest/block shot at rim. Rarely makes bad gambles, jumps passing lanes well with quickness and recognition of offensive set development.
Not particularly strong, but doesn’t get bumped off very often and can hold his own in the heavy traffic of the defensive glass.
Despite feel/intelligence/lack of mistakes, his motor can wain from time to time.
PROJECTED RANGE OF NBA OUTCOMES
High: High IQ spot-up shooter/cutter/transition wing. Disrupter on defense on the perimeter and help side, guarding guards to slim 4s.
Low: Positive defensive player, who drags down an offense with little skill (passing/dribbling) and little spacing.
https://www.thestepien.com/kevin-knox/
It’s SOOOOO early in the process. There’s a lot of development ahead of our young players. Just be glad we’re solidly in the conversation in terms of young talent. This is about the best we could hope for with KP going into his year 23 season. Just think about that. KP is going to turn 23 on August 2nd! All these other young studs will get a baptism in NBA Level play next season while KP is out. This is still the very beginning of this process and journey. 👍🏾
When the front office made the claim about Knox's ball handling during their workout, I was cynical because usually its motivated by marketing and politics. I have to acknowledge that they were correct regarding his improvement in this department, which is encouraging given the time frame in which Knox has accomplished this, and surprising to me because his college trajectory was underwhelming.
Some positives projectionally for him, based on previous summer league statistical precedent, are his rebounding (7.3/gm) and free throw attempt rate (6.5/gm). The suggestion is he has a significant intrinsic athletic advantage and just enough skill at this point that there's hope it will translate.
On a macro level, the front office has done a good job over the past year of auditioning young talent. KP's injury has been helpful in keeping clarity on direction. And it seems that Mills/Perry understand how much uncertainty remins with our current assets (no knee-jerk extension this year for KP). As I've droned on about before, keeping the operation small/consistent maintains our flexibility until these investments reveal themselves, allows the maximization of upcoming draft picks, dollar-cost averages free agent opportunities, and hedges against a cap down-turn. If Hardaway Jr is the one shot they needed to take in the past 1.5 years, I can live with that.
We have another high pick, if we play our cards right this year. And there are several shooting guards that may meet our need, out of Barrett, Little, Reddish and Hachimura. With Frank, one of the above, Knox, Porzingis and Robinson, you have a line-up with formidable 1-on-1 defensive ability, above-average defensive switching ability, good transition ability, average rebounding and unclear shooting. Difficult to say where that line-up ranks, perhaps light on playmaking, but its a start.
