NY Knicks: Kevin Knox, 2021 Summer League, and his NBA Future

NY Knicks: Kevin Knox’s situation in 2021

Fast forward to today. Alex Caruso is an NBA champion and just signed a multi-year deal with the Chicago Bulls. Josh Hart is awaiting his next contract as he is currently a restricted free agent at the time of this writing. He is certainly looking for a lucrative multi-year deal himself, as the performance he had that faithful day in 2018 has become something he is capable of doing on any given night as a pro. And Kevin Knox is entering his fourth year in the league, struggling to find a consistent role, has shown only minor improvements, and is no guarantee to have an NBA career beyond his next contract which will likely be for little money and no more than a 1+1 deal.

Wait, that’s gotta be wrong, right?

Kevin Knox was more than just that one Summer League game. He was the Knicks Summer League. That scoring and shooting outburst was no anomaly. It was one of many such performances over the course of the team’s 2018 and 2019 offseasons. He played nearly every game like a top NBA offensive weapon. He was dominant. Was he not destined for NBA greatness, or at the very least a couple of all-star appearances?

Apparently, not. The year is now 2021 and Knox will be playing in the NBA’s SL at his request. He went to the organization and asked to participate in a limited-time exhibition camp filled with rookies, sophomores, undrafted free agents, and G-League players.

Again, Knox is entering his fourth year as a pro. This will be his third SL appearance. If not for the pandemic, there would have been a 2020 SL. Would he have participated in that one too? Does Knox just love that stage? He clearly thrives on it. It is extremely rare that any player plays in a SL more than twice during their careers unless they are a player trying to break into the pros.

I think the answer is simple, and it is a reality Knox has come to know which many fans had realized long ago. He is on his last legs as a Knick. He is on his way out of the Madison Square Garden doors, at the least.

Knox is playing for his career, his livelihood. He knows he needs all of the reps he can get if he wants to get better and extend his basketball experience at this level. If Kevin Knox goes off again in this SL, what does it do for his Knicks’ future? What does he have to gain from that playing time?

Probably nothing.

He doesn’t have a place here anymore. The NY Knicks are no longer rebuilding. They may have even given his roster spot to the newly drafted Quentin Grimes. By the looks of it, in a few ways Grimes is already on Knox’s level if not above it as an NBA-ready player. I think the Knicks front office knew that and had it in mind when they selected Grimes in the first round.

Unfortunately, Knox’s only value to this organization is as a trade chip, and there isn’t much they can get for him. We can hope Cleveland still has enough interest in giving Knox a chance that he and a couple of picks get Collin Sexton to The Garden.

That is likely a stretch now though as NY no longer has the first-round picks the Cavaliers were reportedly interested in. Knox on his own probably is only worth a second-round pick or a veteran’s expiring contract.

It is a harsh reality, but it is one Knicks fans are no stranger to. Kevin Knox was a project from the beginning. He still is one today. For this team, he’s just another failed lottery pick. The flashes he’s shown both in Summer League and in the NBA may be just that, flashes in a pan.

I won’t completely rule out Knox’s NBA future and another team should definitely give him one more shot. Clearly, he is living on borrowed time in NY. Even if he shows out in the coming weeks, even if he is still on the 15-man roster come opening night, Knox won’t be a Knick for much longer. I wish him the best of luck as he tries to salvage what’s left of his career wherever his journey takes him next. I hope he proves me wrong.

Regardless, I’ll still look back fondly on those scorching summer days when Kevin Knox gave me, a young and suffering Knicks fan, hope that one day he could be a star.