Knicks Roster: Mount ‘Em, Keep ‘Em, or Throw ‘Em Back
By Max Hoover
Knicks: Mount ‘Em, Keep ‘Em, or Throw ‘Em Back: The 2nd Unit
Obi Toppin
You just get the sense with Obi Toppin that he’s starting to figure it out. With Rivers looking lost on the court, it’s a worrisome sign because the man has been here before. With Toppin, he’s still getting acclimated to the speed of the game at this level.
Every game that goes by he seems more and more comfortable with his role on the Knicks.
We’ve seen him score in a number of different ways. He has caught alley-oops and thrown them down. He has posted up smaller defenders and gotten to the basket. He has hit some catch-and-shoot threes. We haven’t quite seen the playmaking ability he flashed at Dayton, but again we see more and more from him offensively each game.
The real surprise has been his defensive play. We were told this would be a major weakness for him, but neither the data nor the eye test support that notion. He has a DPS of 3.91 from NBA Math, which is higher than some players that would surprise you.
The Knicks should only move Toppin if he helps you hook a bigger fish. Decision: Keep ‘Em
Alec Burks
What to do with Alec Burks might actually be the toughest question Leon Rose has to answer before the Trade Deadline.
Burks might be the piece most likely to fetch the Knicks a decent return without totally disrupting either the long-term building process or the short-term goal of making the playoffs this season. His two-way ability might be worth a pretty penny to a championship-contending team.
However, if a few players ahead of him on the depth chart get traded, what Burks offers becomes much more essential to the immediate goals.
The Knicks should only trade Burks if there is not a worthwhile market for players ahead of him. Decision: Keep ‘Em
Immanuel Quickley
Some players on this list are going to be controversial because I advocate to trade them. Other players on this list might be considered controversial because there is no deal where I’d move that player.
Immanuel Quickley is the latter.
Writers and analysts galore could regale you with data about how great Quickley’s play has been. You’ve watched Knicks games. You’ve seen it yourself as recently as this week.
So allow me to go a different route.
Some of the fish you mount are more about the story behind those fish than the actual fish themselves, and Quickley is a great story for this front office to tell.
Quickley represents a front office that knows how to extract maximum value out of later draft picks. That’s not something most previous Knicks regimes could boast.
There’s no realistic deadline offer that is more valuable to the Knicks than the walking embodiment of sage drafting that Quickley is. Decision: Mount ‘Em
Nerlens Noel
The only roster construction move for Leon Rose’s team that deserves more praise than drafting Quickley is the fact that the team is paying $9.8 million across three big men who are flat out holding it down on the defensive end of the floor.
Noel is the most expensive of the three, but he is worth every cent of his $5 million salary. His 39.64 DPS rating is not only the highest on the team, it is good for seventh in the entire league. It is higher than defensive stalwarts who make way more money than he does like Rudy Gobert, Anthony Davis, and Myles Turner.
A lot of fans panicked when Robinson went down, but Noel is thriving in his absence.
I know this sounds crazy, but there is no realistic offer out there for Nerlens Noel. He helps in the short-term and should probably be considered part of the long-term plan. Decision: Mount ‘Em
Derrick Rose
Derrick Rose has spent the majority of his second stint in blue and orange coming off the bench, but with Elfrid Payton’s injury, Rose has moved into the starting lineup. His play on Thursday night against the Kings would lead you to believe that could become a permanent change.
The feeling about Rose immediately after the trade with the Pistons was finalized was that he could be a strong mentor for Quickley. What fans did not give him enough credit for was the impact he would have on the court.
Rose is not just a Thibs guy, he is the Thibs guy.
He is not going anywhere this season. Decision: Mount ‘Em