3. Simi Shittu
The Vanderbilt product is probably one of the least known players in the entire Knicks organization. Shittu has the potential to bring a much-needed style of play if called up to the Association.
Listed as 6-foot-10, 240 pounds, Shittu is a bruiser down low. He plays with intensity, but above all, has a lot of size that allows him to compete for rebounds against taller opponents.
Before this current stint with Westchester, Shittu played the 2019-20 G League season with the Windy City Bulls after going undrafted in 2019. He’s yet to see the floor in the NBA, but has increasingly improved during his time in the G League. Shittu scored 33 points and grabbed 21 rebounds – 10 of them offensive boards – in the final game of the season.
Shittu signed with Westchester this past December and in just two games he’s already racking up the points and boards. In game-one against Fort Wayne, Shittu only played in 19 minutes but contributed 10 points and 12 rebounds. His performance, along with a few injuries forced him into a bigger role. On Thursday, Shittu started and played 33 minutes, delivering another double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds.
He’s also just had six turnovers across the two games, which is a welcome sign considering his team has had problems holding on to the ball.
But this type of play should catch the eye of the New York Knicks. While the Knicks are fifth in the NBA in rebounds per game, it comes with a catch. Outside of Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, and Nerlens Noel, they don’t have another big man to come in and rebound the basketball. Instead, it’s guards like R.J Barrett and Alec Burks pulling down boards. Shittu would provide New York with a high energy guy off the bench that can come in and do nothing else but rebound the basketball.
Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that he has been scoring the ball and makes good decisions with it, hence his semi-low turnover rate. Should Shittu be brought up to the New York Knicks, he’d be the perfect bench role player to snag some boards so the guards can worry about pushing the tempo.