Having missed the playoffs following a dismal season, it’s time for some introspection from the New York Knicks front office.
Decisions need to be made about what direction the franchise is heading in, and what type of players they need to keep them moving towards the team’s end goal. While the future of Mitchell Robinson is going to garner a lot of attention, as is the viability of keeping Julius Randle around for the foreseeable future, we can’t forget about the most glaring need on this Knicks roster: A point guard.
Here are my top 5 Knicks Point Guard targets this summer. It all comes down to cost. Some will cost real assets. Some would take other moves to happen. A lot is in flux for the Knicks this summer. Knicks need other teams to play nice to land a PG.
Kemba Walker was supposed to plug the gap while Immanuel Quickley and Miles McBride continued developing into viable starting caliber guards, but his injury issues and lack of form have made his position on the roster untenable. Derrick Rose, while impactful, is seldom healthy and is clearly beginning to show signs of decline.
As such, with the upcoming free agency period just a few months away, the Knicks are surely scouring the market for a new point guard to help bridge the gap between the young prospects and veteran talent. According to Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley, Tyus Jones of the Memphis Grizzlies could be the perfect addition for the Knicks – especially if they strike out on Jalen Brunson, who many consider the team’s primary target.
“Still, if the Knicks can make this happen, he could be the floor general they have long coveted. It takes a bit of projecting to completely paint him in that light, but his arrow is pointing up. He set multiple career marks this season (including 16.3 points and 4.8 assists per game) and then upped the ante with a 41-point, eight-rebound, five-assist outburst in the Dallas Mavericks’ second playoff game.
New York has talent on the roster—it just needs the right playmaker to bring it all together. If the Knicks think Brunson can be that conductor, they may want to start free agency by putting all of their eggs in that basket,” Buckley wrote in a recent latest article.
Tyus Jones Could Help New York’s Offensive Players
Last off-season, the Knicks made the decision to add some extra firepower on the perimeter, bringing in Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier – both of whom had struggled with the Boston Celtics last season. At the time, the deals made sense, the Knicks had become a high-level defensive unit but oftentimes found themselves over-reliant on Julius Randle’s scoring ability.
So, with the addition of some extra scorers, the Knicks were supposed to take the next step in their rebuild, but the progress failed to materialize. So, perhaps the Knicks never needed more mouths to feed on offense, but rather, somebody to help feed the mouths that were already at the table – and that’s where Jones fits in.
As Buckley noted in his article, the Grizzlies guard isn’t a scorer, but rather, a facilitator. Jones ensures the ball never sticks and continually tries to find his teammates in scoring positions. With RJ Barrett, Randle, Obi Toppin, and potentially Mitchell Robinson in the starting five, having a primary playmaker could be the final piece to an ever-growing puzzle.
I think Tyus Jones is someone the Knicks should look at. Very steady and doesn’t turn the ball over.
Jones is also an experienced veteran in the league, having spent four years with the Minnesota Timberwolves before moving to the Grizzlies, where he’s been for the last three seasons. Throughout his 455 regular season NBA games, the Duke product is averaging 6.2 points, 3.7 assists, and 1.8 rebounds per game with an average of 18.4 minutes per game. If Jones was given the keys to the starting unit’s offense, it’s fair to assume he would easily surpass his career averages and could become an integral part of the next phase of Knicks basketball.
Quickley Has Earned a Shot as The Starting Guard
When October rolls around, as teams take the opening tip of the season, Immanuel Quickly will officially be a third-year guard. Since entering the NBA as the 25th pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Quickley has been a surprise package on both ends of the floor.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has never been known as a player development coach, yet he found reason to give the Kentucky product meaningful minutes during his rookie season, and then slightly increased his role as a sophomore. In return, Quickley has repaid the Knicks coaching staff with 11.4 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.7 rebounds a night over his 142 regular-season games.
Immanuel Quickley had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.5 in the last 15 games of the season.
Was clearly the floor general when on the court with an 33.2 assist rate against 24.0 percent usage.
The Knicks don’t need to get a guard in the draft or free agency. Just start IQ.
Should the Knicks move on from both Walker and Rose during the off-season, they’re going to need an additional guard, but that doesn’t mean whoever they acquire has to be the starting guard. If Thibodeau and the front office are seriously committed to developing the young talent currently at their disposal, then there is a legitimate case to be made about extending the starting role to Quickley next season.
However, both Jones and Brunson (two guards linked with the Knicks) are currently more impactful players, so the young combo-guard will inevitably face a battle to earn his place among the team’s starting five. Still, that type of roster battle is what spurs players onto new heights, bringing out their best while encouraging them to work on their weaknesses.
So, if the Knicks do strike out on their primary point guard targets this off-season, they can rest assured that they have a ready-made replacement waiting to step into a leading role for the team that drafted him.
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Knicks Encouraged to Sign Playmaking Grizzlies Guard in Free Agency