The Knicks’ offseason has seen a major overhaul to the roster. There are but two players left on the roster that harken back to the previous regime: Eddy Curry, and Wilson Chandler. In there place are new pieces, but many are redundant wing players. The Knicks have a lot up front and very little behind.
Any of the following players could see time at the three this year:
- Chandler
- Anthony Randolph
- Bill Walker
- Kelenna Azubuike
- Danilo Gallinari
- Landry Fields
But what do the Knicks have in the backcourt, specifically shooting guard?
Walker and Azubuike are the best fits on the Knicks roster at the 2. They can both spread the floor. Both however, seem to need work on their passing and are best suited as forwards. Chandler played at the 2 last year and should also be considered for the position. All three are very young and all three have potential. All three also have injury problems.
Chandler has many strengths. He is very athletic. He is creative with the ball off the dribble. He is dynamic in the midrange game. He’s an above average defender.
He also has many weakness. He has poor court awareness on offense. He is a poor rebounder for a forward. He is inconsistent at best from beyond 15 feet. He isn’t a willing passer, by any stretch. In fact, he’s a bit of a ball stopper.
On an even playing field, Chandler seems, at best, like the third best 3 the Knicks have and, possibly, the third best 2 in terms of fit.
The Knicks have team options on Chandler, Gallinari, Walker, and Randolph next summer. Something is going to have to give. In my opinion, Chandler is expendable in the right deal for a 2 who can spread the floor with his shooting range, keep the ball moving, and maybe, since the Knicks don’t have Steve Nash, create for himself.
As much as the Knicks’ roster has improved, this is one area that is still lacking.
Here is my completely premature and half-baked rotation as I see it. I disagree that Randolph will be seeing any time at the 3.
PG – Felton (35min), TD(13)
SG – Azubuike (25), Wilson (13), TD (10)
SF – Gallo (25), Wilson (15), Walker/Fields (8)
PF – Amare (25), Gallo (8), Randolph (15)
C – Turiaf (18), Amare (13), Randolph (17)
The starting 5 are the first names you see at each position. I see guys like Gallo, Wilson, TD, Amare and Randolph getting minutes split at different positions, so for a complete minute tally:
Total minutes:
Amare – 38
Felton – 35
Gallo – 33
Randolph – 32
Wilson – 28
Azubuike – 25
TD – 23
Turiaf – 18
Walker/Fields – 8
Of course Kelenna is probably injured to start the season most likely, so we’ll see
Thanks. That all does make sense. I do expect Walker to get more time than that based just on what we saw we saw last year. He’s a better fit in the system than Chandler is, but Chandler has more of a track record. Like you say, I guess we’ll see.
How is it that Randolf would figure to see 17 minutes at the 5 spot? Last time we put a paper thin forward in the 5 spot we broke his back (Gallo). Or is the Jared Jeffries flavor of center more appealing. As you can tell, I really dislike that idea.
We played Gallo at the 5 spot? I don’t remember that. You make a good point, but I just think Coach D wants to give him minutes, and its not gonna work at the 3 spot. Plus, There could be matchups and teams when a Gallo-Randolph front court could work to our advantage for short stretches.
Maybe its a weak part to my lineup, but unless the Russian kid really impresses, I just think we’ll need to spot him some time there. And who knows, maybe some strength training over the next month could add some muscle to the kid. He is just 22, and is yet to have a filled out body it seems to me.
Gallo was injured in pre-season guarding Robert “Tractor” Taylor. He was playing the 5 at the time. Regardless of position on the floor, having to guard players 50+lbs bigger than you just isn’t good on a regular bases. Hence Amare’s desire NOT to play the 5.
We have unresolved problems at the 2 and the 5. As troubling as it sounds, we need the Isaiah Eddy Curry back. That would make a world of difference!
The agent for the Russian C tweeted that he will get playing time as the backup C to Turiaf.
IMO, Randolph is our 2nd best player. If we don’t get him on the court for as many minutes as his body can handle, IMO we will be making a mistake. I think Amare is simply going to have to play some C against the smaller Cs in the league to get this kid on the court.
What about McCants?