I can confidently I have watched the game of Basketball for 22 years and I would tune in for every Knicks game to watch Allan Houston
shoot the ball which was absolute poetry. The Knicks gave him his money and his knee blew, then the Knicks bring over Stephon Marbury to the Garden and signed Jamal Crawford and Eddy Curry to hefty contracts in an experiment which ended up being a fail. I recall the Knicks drafting Georgetown product Mike Sweetney with the 7th overall pick and watching him perform like yet another draft fail. The Knicks gave up all their depth and could not wait till the Summer to sign Carmelo Anthony, they gave him a 5-year contract and the relationship between Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony was never there. Phil Jackson drafts Kristaps Porzingis who turns out to be a boom and the Knicks trade him away the moment they felt he became disgruntled by questioning the direction of the franchise.
It was nice to see JR Smith,Carmelo Anthony,and Tyson Chandler make some noise 7-8 years ago when they won 54 games under Mike Woodson, but that team never made it past the second round and up until now the Knicks are still a mess. They hired Leon Rose to take over in New York, Allan Houston will be part of his group which is great being that Allan Houston is as well mannered as they come and was always the true example of a professional in his time as a player in the NBA. The Knicks draft Kevin Knox with the 9th overall pick, 6’9 239-235 pounds with a 6’11 wingspan and Knicks fans are wondering why is he not playing like an all-star by now? He went in the same draft as Luka Doncic who is already a Top 10 player in the NBA so what is taking Kevin Knox so long to develop? They question his motor,confidence,effort, and basketball IQ yet I saw him breaking down a play on the defensive and offensive side of the ball for Jalen Rose on TV, the Knicks have been working on making Kevin Knox a better defender to make use of his length but ultimately it comes down to Kevin Knox and how good he wants to be.
I recall LeBron James giving him advice after a game and him saying how LeBron was aware of his stats and he was in awe that LeBron would be following him being that he was a rookie. But it goes to show that LeBron sees potential in Knox and with the right coaching and mentoring he could blossom into an all-star in the future for the New York Knicks. RJ Barrett got his wish, he said he wanted to get drafted by the Knicks or Lakers and the Knicks went on and drafted him. RJ Barrett has higher expectations than Kevin Knox but I believe the key to the Knicks’s success is RJ Barrett,Kevin Knox,and Mitchell Robinson’s development. The Knicks struck out on Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant last summer and made it clear they were focused on player development, sometimes putting superstars together on one team does not always equate to success, sometimes the key to success is patience and that applies for the New York Knicks with Kevin Knox.
I once read a comment of someone saying they felt Kevin Knox could be the best to ever to play the game once he figures it out and obviously I would consider that a stretch, I have seen my share of late-bloomers like Kobe Bryant,Dirk Nowitzki,Steve Nash,Jimmy Butler,Giannis Antetokoumpo,Kawhi Leonard, and a more recent player Brandon Ingram who just became an all-star in his 4th season after struggling early on in Los Angeles. I am not saying Kevin Knox will become a top 5 player and carry the Knicks to a championship over the next 4-5 years but if he listens to the advice LeBron James gave him I could foresee a title for the Knicks down the line. Someone has to take the leap between RJ Barrett,Mitchell Robinson, and Kevin Knox and I believe Kevin Knox’s leap into an all-star will take the Knicks to new heights. Do you not recall the times of Allan Houston,Latrell Sprewell, and Marcus Camby when they made a Finals run 1999? Who’s to say RJ Barrett,Kevin Knox, and Mitchell Robinson won’t be better than Latrell Spreweel,Allan Houston, and Marcus Camby?
It’s all on the Knicks to find a coach who can give Kevin Knox a featured role next season and bring the best out of him. I never understood the Marcus Morris signing, no disrespect to Marcus who is one of the NBA’s top competitors who partook in the Eastern Conference Finals with Boston but Kevin Knox has a higher ceiling and should have been given the small-forward job from the jump, that was the Knicks first mistake. Kevin Knox should be getting a consistent 20-30 minutes a night whether starting or coming off the bench, David Fizdale playing him off the bench behind Marcus Morris was not good for his development and he has only started 4 games all season. Why draft a player 9th overall and not give him all the minutes possible? I ask the same of Michael Malone who refuses to play Michael Porter Jr in Denver. For Knox it’s simple, play the passing lanes,move off the ball,hustle for loose balls, and show the Knicks crowd you are looking to do much more than just score, I saw Knox score 31 points already I know he can score but he needs to become a better all-around player.
To conclude I said the same about RJ Barrett in one of my Youtube video and how he needed to focus on becoming the best play-maker,rebounder,and defender possible to eclipse Harden,Beal, and Thompson in the future and the same could be said for Kevin Knox. We always knew Kevin Durant for being a scorer but when he signed with Golden State he focused on being a team player and learned what sacrificing was and became more of an off-the ball player as to how he played in Oklahoma City as more of an isolation player looking to score 90 percent of the time. With improved ball-handling I think Kevin Knox can be the next Kevin Durant, he covers so much ground like Kevin Durant does on fastbreaks and can explode at the rim for two handed slams a lot like Kevin Durant. Shooting coming off-screens is really good and he can’t create his own offense at an elite level like Kevin Durant at the moment but he’s shown the range off crossovers which makes you marvel on what he could blossom into. It’s simple defense,handles,and play-making will make Kevin Knox a perennial all-star, till next time.
D-NBA 