New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale said he challenged Kevin Knox to provide leadership for a fellow rookie—one who entered the NBA from a different situation.
When the New York Knicks hired David Fizdale as their next head coach, he entered a situation of continuous playoff misses, question marks with the team’s top player and a bevy of young talent. At the time, it did not include Kevin Knox and Mitchell Robinson, New York’s 2018 first and second round picks, respectively.
Knox entered the NBA out of Kentucky, where he spent one year at. Robinson committed to Western Kentucky, but opted not to attend school and waited for June’s draft.
So, while these two will enter their rookie seasons, they come from different situations. That set up an interesting dynamic, at least in Fizdale’s view. According to ESPN’s Ian Begley, the second-time head coach said he challenged Knox to provide leadership for Robinson, and it was accepted.
Knicks coach David Fizdale says he challenged Kevin Knox to provide some leadership to Mitchell Robinson, who did not attend college last season. Fizdale says at a team town hall meeting that Knox, who played for one year at Kentucky, has taken on that leadership role w/Robinson.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) September 17, 2018
It’s an intriguing tactic from Fizdale, to put the 19-year-old Knox into a leadership role. Though, with a lack of veterans on the Knicks, especially ones with contracts past the 2018-19 season, it builds the No. 9 overall pick’s vocal role early and even places him in a teaching role for future players that arrive in the cap-friendly summer of 2019.
Knox also must back this up with on-court productivity, which he started in the 2018 summer league, with a spot on the first team.
As for Robinson, he also took part in the summer league and flashed upside, with 13 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. However, with no experience past the high school level, it makes sense to pair him with a fellow rookie that’s in a similar boat as a first-year player, but with more experience at a higher level of basketball.
This may also place Robinson in the G League for part of the 2018-19 season, which allows him to grow against NBA-caliber competition, before a full-time test at the main level.
Knox and Robinson have the chance to rise together as rookies for the Knicks, despite their different backgrounds of the past 12 months. With team uncertainty after the 2018-19 season, they can provide stability for at least two roster spots.