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New York Knicks: Pros and Cons of potentially signing Shabazz Muhammad

By Maxwell Ogden

DALLAS, TX - FEBRUARY 28: Shabazz Muhammad #15 of the Minnesota Timberwolves takes a shot against Zaza Pachulia #27 of the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on February 28, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - FEBRUARY 28: Shabazz Muhammad #15 of the Minnesota Timberwolves takes a shot against Zaza Pachulia #27 of the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on February 28, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 05: Shabazz Muhammad #15 of the Minnesota Timberwolves goes up for a shot against Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena on April 5, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 05: Shabazz Muhammad #15 of the Minnesota Timberwolves goes up for a shot against Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena on April 5, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Pro: Scoring Instincts

Coming out of college, the primary strength working in Shabazz Muhammad’s favor was his scoring ability. He averaged 17.9 points per game and 23.2 points per 40 minutes during his lone season with the UCLA Bruins.

Since arriving in the NBA, Muhammad has maintained a strong scoring pace with a career average of 18.9 points per 36 minutes on a career slash line of .476/.323/.749.

Despite being more of an on-ball scorer, Muhammad managed to be efficient in an offense that rarely gave him the touches he needs. This past season, his usage rate sat at 20.1 percent, yet he managed to shoot .482/.336/.774.

20.1 percent isn’t a terribly low number, but the context is that Muhammad is an ISO scorer who didn’t have the luxury of picking his spots with so few touches coming his way.

Nevertheless, Muhammad managed to average 18.3 points per 36 minutes in 2016-17. He increased his 3-point field goal percentage from 28.9 percent in 2015-16 to 33.6 percent in 2016-17, and boosted his field goal percentage from 46.5 percent to 48.2 percent.

Muhammad has improved his 2-point field goal percentage in all four of his NBA seasons, and that steady improvement should appeal to the New York Knicks.