Who will be the New York Knicks’ next lead ball-handler?
The 2020-21 New York Knicks season was full of pleasant surprises and an overall fun brand of basketball, shocking fans and experts alike as they finished with a respectable 41-31 record. Julius Randle won the Most Improved Player award, Tom Thibodeau secured Coach of the Year honors and Derrick Rose was a finalist for the 6th Man of the Year trophy.
The team has also amassed a genuinely promising young core which includes RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Mitchell Robinson, and Obi Toppin. They also have five first-round picks over the next three drafts, hoping to add even more young talent.
However, one issue that has plagued the team for the last decade has still cropped up with this current group of players: The lack of a quality starting point guard.
Elfrid Payton struggled heavily to end the regular season and was benched in the playoffs, so it seems like he won’t be returning to the Knicks once he hits free agency this summer. Derrick Rose was a great addition to the bench and stepped up in the postseason, but fatigue was sometimes a factor when he was asked to consistently play 35+ minutes every night.
Needless to say, the New York Knicks are expected to be looking for a new starting point guard. With around $50 million in cap space, they’ll have the means to acquire any free agent that wants to play in New York.
SNY’s NBA Insider Ian Begley revealed six different players that the Knicks will likely consider to fill their vacant starting point guard role, with the possibility of bringing Rose back and giving him around 15-20 minutes off the bench.
Let’s take a look at each one of the six players named and see how well they’d fit with next year’s Knicks on a scale of 0-10. (0 being the worst possible fit imaginable, 10 being the perfect point guard for the team)