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New York Knicks: Early pros, cons of a Kyrie Irving pursuit in free agency

By Rob Wolkenbrod

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 24: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics walks to the locker room after the game against the New York Knicks on February 24, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 24: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics walks to the locker room after the game against the New York Knicks on February 24, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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DENVER, CO – JANUARY 29: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics brings the ball down the court against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center on January 29, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – JANUARY 29: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics brings the ball down the court against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center on January 29, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Pro: What if the point guards do not develop?

The New York Knicks have players at point guard with upside, but what if none of them take that aforementioned step forward in the 2018-19 season?

Trey Burke performed well in his 36 games for New York and he might improve on it. Given the four-year track record beforehand, however, it’s reasonable to temper expectations in the second go-around.

Burke nearly fell out of the NBA after three years with the Utah Jazz and a limited one-year role with the Washington Wizards. It took a G League stint to recover and make it to the League, before the successful run to close 2017-18.

What if Burke falls back to his pre-Knick numbers, though? That’s below 40 percent shooting and hovering around 30 percent from three-point range. (He has three seasons of exactly 12.8 points per game.)

A failure to live up to the short-season numbers and improve on them will put the Knicks in the Kyrie Irving direction, or another player to upgrade the point guard position. It’s the player who always has the ball in their hands, and New York has struggled to find a long-term face to do this.

Maybe Frank Ntilikina takes some pressure off the need for Irving, but unless he makes a significant leap forward, it’s difficult to think the Knicks pass on this superstar for them.

If none of the Knicks point guards develop, specifically Burke, it points the organization in the Irving direction. For now, that seems like the more logical angle of the two.