New York Knicks must go all in on the youth movement in 2020-21

As tempting as it may be to sign or emphasize productive veterans, the New York Knicks must go all-in on the younger players in 2020-21.

If you watched the New York Knicks after Mike Miller took over as interim head coach, you’d have a hard time believing that this team is 24 games below .500. New York has gone 17-27 with Miller as head coach, playing with vastly superior effort and efficiency on both ends of the floor.

Encouraging as that may be, the Knicks must be willing to sacrifice wins for progress in 2020-21 if they truly hope to build upon this recent success.

It’s no secret that New York set its sights on the 2021 period of free agency. It’s easy to see why, as the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bradley Beal, Paul George, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and CJ McCollum will all be eligible to become unrestricted free agents.

While it’s certainly possible that the Knicks could sign a player to a long-term deal in 2020, the focus is clearly on the more star-studded crop of options.

Ambitious a goal as that may be, it’s within the realm of possibility that the Knicks could sign a star next summer. In order to do so, however, New York will need to prove that they offer a situation that’s worth believing in.

Thankfully, there’s an approach to doing so that the roster is equipped to handle: Prioritizing the development of the up-and-coming players above all else.

Seriously: Above all else.

Touches Matter

It’s a nice sentiment when people suggest that sharing the court with veterans and watching them work will help a young player grow. To an extent, it’s even true. Studying the tricks of the trade from a player who has carved out a lengthy career is an incomparable experience.

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If said young players are then unable to take what they’ve learned and apply it themselves, however, it becomes nothing more than a nice sentiment.

The biggest issue that young Knicks players have faced in 2019-20 has been the limited number of touches they’ve received. It was understandable to play through Marcus Morris given how well he was producing, but the likes of RJ Barrett, Frank Ntilikina, and Julius Randle all suffered.

Now that Morris has been traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, all three players have managed to piece together some of their strongest stretches to date.

Since All-Star Weekend, Barrett has averaged 17.2 points per game on 45.2 percent shooting from the field. Ntilikina has averaged 9.4 points and 1.3 three-point field goals made on 40.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc during that same stretch—or: 15.2 points and 5.1 assists per 36.

Randle has produced like an All-Star, boasting averages of 20.5 points and 10.1 rebounds on a slash line of .488/.391/.817.

It’s a small sample size, but it’s also a clear indication of what New York needs to do next season: Play through the younger players and let them grow.

Time Is Running Out

The best thing about investing in the NBA Draft as a team that’s hungry to sign a star is the nature of cost-controlled contracts. Incoming rookies generally sign four-year deals, and they tend to be on the affordable side for franchises.

Unfortunately for the Knicks, they’re wasting the valuable years that have been made available to them by inconsistently utilizing said players.

Ntilikina will be entering the final year of his rookie-scale contract, while Kevin Knox and Mitchell Robinson will only have one more year remaining on their deals after 2020-21. Moreover, Damyean Dotson and Allonzo Trier will become restricted free agents this summer.

Rather than harping on the opportunities that have already been missed, however, the Knicks should attempt to learn from past mistakes.

Players only have so much time to make mistakes on affordable contracts before final decisions have to be made. As such, the most responsible approach would be to run the offense through the younger players when there’s nothing to lose and much information to be gained.

It may or may not yield a long-awaited return to the Playoffs in 2020-21, but the long-term payoff would be far greater if the team actually knew what it had on the roster.

There’s Actually A Decent Amount Of Talent

It may be hard to see on a team that’s so far below .500, but the New York Knicks aren’t devoid of talent. In fact: The Knicks are actually one of the more promising young teams in the NBA, and could eventually return to the Playoffs by simply capitalizing on their youth movement.

The key to actually developing that talent is doing what hasn’t been done since this rebuild began: Truly sacrificing wins for development.

Love him or hate him, Frank Ntilikina is on the roster, and he needs a consistent role with steady playing time. Kevin Knox may be struggling to convert, but he too is still on the roster—and is actually shooting 35 percent from beyond the arc when he plays at least 20 minutes.

In fact: Ntilikina shot 42.4 percent from three-point range during the 10 games in which he played at least 30 minutes—with a net rating of +5.

Giving both players 25-plus minutes per game may not generate many wins, but it’ll certainly provide definitive answers as to whether or not they fit long-term.

RJ Barrett has been creative with the ball in his hands, so the best route to developing his skill set would be to put the ball in his hands. Julius Randle may not be the player fans wanted, but he’s under contract through next season and should be used to the best of his abilities as long as he is.

Regardless of how you structure the lineup or system, one thing must ring true in 2020: The younger players become the top priority at all costs.

It’s then, and only then, that the New York Knicks will be able to make strides towards building the culture that has long eluded them.