New York Knicks: How they can thrive with Derrick Rose

Knicks: Make Immanuel Quickley the starter

Derrick Rose’s arrival should not mean less playing time for Quickley. So how does Rose’s game shine through while also giving Quickley an increased role?

The answer to me is pretty simple: Make Derrick Rose the 6th-man and make Immanuel Quickley the starting point guard.

Now there are multiple reasons why this is the best option for everyone involved, but let’s begin with the starting lineup. Having Quickley out there with the starters immediately gives the opening lineup more floor-spacing.

We’ve seen long stretches of Knicks basketball where Julius Randle runs around the court in circles, kicks it out to an open player, only for that player to miss the shot or pass it to someone else. That was the entire offense in the 4th quarter of the team’s last game against the Miami Heat. The ball can become a hot potato with the Knicks starters when the shots aren’t falling.

Of course, this means Immanuel Quickley will now be getting playing time night in and night out, as he should. It doesn’t matter if Quickley has periods where he doesn’t play well. He needs to learn how to play through his mistakes — How do we know he’s not the best prospect on the team?

The Knicks won’t know what they actually have in Quickley if he isn’t playing 25-30 minutes per game.

While Quickley becomes a starter and takes the next steps in his development, Rose can now be the added scoring firepower off of the bench.