Knicks: Tony Wroten Confident He’ll Win Starting PG Job
Tony Wroten is confident that he’ll win the New York Knicks’ starting point guard job in 2016-17.
If there’s one thing you need to know about recent New York Knicks signee Tony Wroten, it’s that he’s a confident individual. Having acclimated himself to his surroundings, as evidenced by his defeating Kristaps Porzingis in the team’s FIFA tournament, Wroten is turning his attention to winning something bigger.
With supreme confidence, Wroten is gunning for the starting point guard job.
Wroten’s recovery from 2015 knee surgery took an unexpected turn for the worst when he prematurely returned to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2015-16. Philadelphia cut Wroten after his lackluster run, but after closely evaluating his progress, Knicks team president Phil Jackson spotted the 22-year-old’s potential.
According to Marc Berman of The New York Post, Wroten has no doubt in his mind that he’ll win the starting point guard role for the 2016-17 Knicks.
"“Without a doubt, without a doubt,’’ Wroten told The Post when asked if he believes he will start next season. “I’m working hard. That’s what I want to be. That’s my mindset from here on out. I want to help my team, and I feel I can help them and learn from them in practice now [I can learn from] watching Carmelo [Anthony], Jose [Calderon], [Langston] Galloway, Kevin [Seraphin]. They brought me in like family. I’m already comfortable with the team and I haven’t played a game yet or practiced. So I’m definitely excited.”"
That confidence is vital in young players looking to make a name in the NBA.
Wroten has the potential to be one of the better playmakers in the Association. He’s a 6’6″ point guard with a lethal crossover, explosive leaping ability, and the court vision to both make plays in the open court and run the pick-and-roll.
Prior to his injury, Wroten averaged 16.9 points, 5.2 assists, and 1.6 steals in 29.8 minutes for the 2014-15 76ers.
There’s no telling if Wroten is still the athlete that he was, and that production comes with the asterisk of a broken jump shot. Without severe improvement to his jumper, he’ll be unable to play the role required of him in the Triangle Offense.
In the meantime, his ability to create penetration should suffice.
With his size and creativity as a ball-handler, Wroten is capable of collapsing a defense and finishing in the paint. The issue in Philadelphia was that he too often barreled into the paint without checking to see what his penetration had created around him.
Rather than always going for the finish, franchise player Carmelo Anthony is attempting to show Wroten how to recognize how helpful his dribble-penetration can be.
"“Melo has been one of my mentors, helping me, sitting down and talking to,’’ Wroten said. “We were just watching the game and he was telling me: ‘See right there. If you just penetrate, bring the defense in and be able to kick out, it will help our offense and make it easier for everybody,’ not just me and him. For Melo to be saying those things and encouraging me shows he believes in me and knows I’m capable of being one of the best penetrators in the league and can help this team tremendously.’’"
Anthony’s leadership continues to shine through.
Wroten will need to improve his decision-making after committing an average of 3.8 turnovers per game in 2014-15. He’ll also need to work on his jump shot, as even the best of dribble-penetrators can eventually lose their luster once opposing defenses give them space.
Having the trust and mentorship of the franchise player is an undeniably excellent place to start the process of finding one’s niche.
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Despite the uncertainty surrounding his partially guaranteed contract, Wroten is confident that he’ll be the Knicks’ starting point guard in 2016-17. One can’t help but respect his determination.