With the signing of Henry Ellenson, the New York Knicks continue their assessment of as much young talent as they can find.
In their quest to build themselves back to relevancy, one of the most notable tactical moves made by the New York Knicks’ front office since the arrival of general manager Scott Perry has been the acquisition of a number of forgotten or cast-away players.
For one reason or another, fair or not, these guys and their careers simply hadn’t materialized up until a certain point, and it’s that failure that made them so undesirable for a number of NBA franchises.
The Knicks, however, are no ordinary franchise. Currently, in the midst of a long-overdue rebuilding process, they’ve been more than willing to give a number of players another shot which, for them, is a low-risk-high-reward move given the cheap deals they’re able to sign these guys too.
First, it was Trey Burke and Troy Williams last season. Then, New York acquired Emmanuel Mudiay at the 2018 deadline. Over the summer the team signed Noah Vonleh. Less than two weeks ago it was John Jenkins. Now, the latest flyer taken has been former Detroit Piston Henry Ellenson, and in just two games so far, he’s already looked impressive.
Joakim Noah, who signed a 4-year, $71 million contract with NY, had three games with 13+ points in his Knicks career.
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) March 1, 2019
Henry Ellenson, who signed a 10-day contract with NY, now has two games with 13+ points during his Knicks career.
Taken 16th overall back in 2016, Ellenson was cut by Detroit in early February and found his way to the Big Apple in the form of a 10-day contract. David Fizdale hasn’t been shy about giving the former Marquette big man a chance in the form of 22.3 minutes per game, and Ellenson has done his part in justifying that decision.
In the two games in which he’s received major minutes, Ellenson dropped 13 a piece. He’s shown an underrated ability to handle the basketball, pushing it up the court with incredible ease for a guy his size. With flashes of an outside jumper as well as passing instincts, he looks the part of a prototypical big man in 2019.
Like those before him, there’s no telling whether or not Ellenson can become a consistent member of the rotation. With a team option on his new deal, there isn’t even a guarantee he’ll be on the team next season.
For the Knicks, there was little to no risk in taking this opportunity, and its a strategy they’ve employed a number of times as a way to help possible expedite the treck back up to the top of the NBA standings.