1. No Risk, High Reward
The New York Knicks aren’t risking much of anything by signing Cleanthony Early. He’s going directly to the NBA D-League, already has experience with the Westchester Knicks, and still has a relatively high ceiling.
The reality is, New York has signed an upside player to the NBA D-League and put very little on the line by doing so.
Early has been listed as a small forward throughout his career, but he may be better off as a stretch 4 in the modern NBA. He’s a productive rebounder, has an explosive vertical, and can’t shoot well enough to be a knockdown threat, but can space the floor quite well.
That all adds up to Early making the move to a different position—a move that could save and revitalize his NBA career.
Having established this, the Knicks can tinker with Early’s position in the NBA D-League and evaluate the results. There’s no harm in moving him to a different position and potentially seeing him fail, as they can simply switch him back to small forward.
If he excels at power forward, or comes along as an NBA-caliber small forward, then the Knicks could have another young piece to build with.
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There’s no risk and a potentially high reward. What’s not to love about that?