New York Knicks: Five burning questions for the 2018-19 season

4. Who steps up at point guard?

Point guard has become a revolving door for the New York Knicks since Stephon Marbury’s departure in 2008. Everyone acquired afterward provided stop-gap production or never lived up to expectations.

The 2018-19 team has Trey Burke, Emmanuel Mudiay and Frank Ntilikina to choose from—maybe even Ron Baker. The former three were all highly regarded out of college, and while the Frenchman is just one season into his NBA career, there’s no clear-cut player from that group to start.

Through four preseason games, Burke and Mudiay have struggled to find a scoring rhythm. Neither shot above 40 percent, and the latter man sunk to 15 percent on just 2.0 points, as well as being turnover prone.

Fizdale’s desire to explore Ntilikina’s player development should lead to roles that don’t just include point guard. It won’t remove him from the starting equation, but there are more options with a bench role that allows for versatility.

If no one emerges at point guard, where do the Knicks go? They can seek veteran options in free agency, likely with the release of a guaranteed contract or a young player’s demotion, or Fizdale can try the aforementioned Baker and a newcomer, Allonzo Trier.

This situation will take time to develop, if it ever reaches its pinnacle. It’s a position for the Knicks to look at in July, but pressure on this can disappear if one of the three former lottery picks emerges.