Not all Kentucky products have been taken off by the Knicks.
As rookie goalie Immanuel Quickley and Julius Randle shoot up, Wildcat student striker Kevin Knox played Sunday in the Knicks ’129-115 Clicks defeat when he received his first DNP of the season.
Writing was on the wall as Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau reduced Knox’s role when swing Alec Burks and rookie striker Obi Toppin returned from long-term injuries. Knox had played just eight minutes in each of the last two games, leaving no goals while trying just one field goal.
His 2018 lottery selection had started the season with a bang, showing a 3-point shooting range and winning congratulations from Thibodeau.
“Obviously they don’t prioritize their development, just like last year,” an NBA scout said.
Less than two weeks ago, Knox led the NBA in a 3-point shooting percentage around the corner, but has stopped shooting. Knox averages just 6.1 points, shooting 39.1 percent and 39.1 percent from the 3-point range. Knox’s effective field goal percentage, which adds extra weight to the 3-point marks, is 50.5% healthy, higher than Quickley and RJ Barrett.
However, Thibodeau sees a broader view and has fallen in love with the skin of Reggie Bullock wing and even Toppin’s tenacity, which doesn’t shoot well (40.8%, 26.1% of 3 ). When Toppin was out, Knox played many minutes on the striker.
It should be noted that Knicks president Leon Rose is more invested in Toppin than Knox, who was selected ninth by Knicks general Scott Perry and former president Steve Mills.
One person familiar with coaching body thinking said Thibodeau still feels that Bullock, Toppin and Burks provide “more energy” than Knox recently, although there is no data to support this. One of Knox’s problems coming out of Kentucky was the low engine, but he had competed harder this season.
Thibodeau recently congratulated Knox’s selection of shots: feeling last season that he launched many inadvisable attempts. For his part, Knox recently said he needed to attack the edge more and not rely solely on the 3s.
The NBA scout said the slow pace of the Knicks that Thibodeau prefers doesn’t suit Knox, as does a faster attack. In fact, the Knox 6-8 protrudes from the ground.
Knox’s shooting had fallen before Sunday’s DNP. It was just 4 of 17 in the previous seven games.
On Sunday, Thibodeau was likely worried about Knox’s clashes against Clippers elite forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, as well as tough Marcus Morris. However, without Knox, the Knicks left the 129 worst of the season.
Barrett, whom the Knicks try to make more than a small striker, fought but did not contain Leonard (28 points).
The future of Knox, who is still only 21, looks bleak. If the DNPs continue, it wouldn’t be surprising for the Knicks to send him to the G-League bubble in Orlando to get reps, as they have done with Dennis Smith Jr.
Knox still has commercial value and The Post reported that Oklahoma City had an interest in him when the Knicks watched a Chris Paul trade.
In Andrew Yang’s podcast last week, NBA draft expert Kevin O’Connor understood that Knox could come into his own with another squad if the Knicks are impatient with his slow development.
“(It was) a raw perspective coming out of the project, it would be a project,” O’Connor said. “It simply came to our notice then. He’s still a guy who doesn’t seem ready to play. What a shame it is the third year. Look at the Knicks ’offense and what a difference a quality scorer would make on that team. Having someone like a developed Kevin Knox will make this team totally different when it comes to projecting them forward. Ultimately, his shot didn’t come together properly, neither did his ball nor his decision-making. “
The Knicks exercised Knox’s fourth-year option, which will pay him $ 5.8 million next season.
“He looks like one of those guys that I wouldn’t be surprised if, if his second team or his third team, he ended up becoming a quality NBA player,” said O’Connor, who works at The Ringer . “That’s interesting with the Knicks with guys like Knox. They’re probably more valuable to the Knicks as a player to change for someone who can play right away and contribute something. The people I talk to in the league have been considered a person who can leave the field “
The Knicks officially assigned Smith Jr., Ignas Brazdeikis and Jared Harper to the G-League bubble in Orlando, which begins in mid-February. The season will last about four weeks.