NY Knicks: Free agents that address NY’s least efficient play types
By Max Hoover
Who should the NY Knicks sign to help get them more quality looks off screens?
There are relative weaknesses and there are straight-up-however-you-slice-it weaknesses.
Efficiency off screens was definitely the latter for the Knicks. The team averaged 0.83 points per possession off screens.
That figure was next to the last in the league.
The entire league struggled off screens, as even the most efficient team in the league on this play type, the Miami Heat, were still below the league average per 100 possessions.
The Knicks should be looking for some players who can improve this play type heading into next season.
Free Agent Option One–Duncan Robinson (RFA)
*Pauses for Knicks fans to scoff*
Ok. Got it out of your system?
Now let’s look at some data.
Duncan Robinson, a rumored target of the Knicks this summer, scored 1.30 points per possession coming off screens last year for the Heat. That was good for 88th percentile in the entire league. It also accounted for nearly 17% of Robinson’s scoring opportunities.
Much like Jarrett Allen on the previous slide, he’s incredibly efficient on those plays and he loves to run them. It’s a good fit for the Knicks.
However, also like Allen, Robinson is a restricted free agent.
You’ve got to believe that the Heat know how important he is to their offense and will likely not let him walk without a fight.
Then again, the Heat always find themselves in big game hunting mode. Perhaps Robinson might be collateral damage in their next big play.
The Knicks might be able to capitalize on that.
It’s important to note that Robinson is a Top 20 player in my Weigh DAE metric. If you’re going to pony up for a player, it’s a player who is as efficient across the board as Duncan Robinson.
Free Agent Option–Evan Fournier (UFA)
Evan Fournier may be unrestricted, but he might end up costing just as much as Robinson.
Fournier is viewed by many as a great complimentary piece on a contending team. As such, he might start a bidding war for his services in this otherwise thin free-agent class.
In this context, you can see why teams would be interested in adding Fournier to their roster. He posts a similar 1.30 points per possession on plays off screens.
He does score a bit lower on my Weigh DAE metric, but he still finds himself squarely in the middle 50% of the league on that figure.
Fournier could be a great second option to consider if the Heat match a deal for Robinson.
Free Agent Option–Patty Mills (UFA)
Patty Mills may be the closest thing to an off-screen assassin that the Knicks could land in free agency. He scored a whopping 1.41 points per possession coming off screens during the regular season.
It may be hard to picture Mills leaving the Spurs, the organization where he has spent nearly his entire pro career, but the Spurs are at a crossroads. It’s possible he is not in their long-term plans, and it’s possible that he may decide to join a team with better playoff chances next year.
Mills is 33, and he does have a lower Weigh DAE score than the previous two options, but with that comes a cheaper cost. For a backup PG, the Knicks could definitely do worse.