New York Knicks: Why Kemba Walker can transform NY’s offense

New York Knicks: What can you expect from Kemba Walker?

Kemba Walker isn’t going to be playing the same role he was in Charlotte.

As of right now, the Knicks have one current All-Star in Julius Randle, who is surrounded by a mixture of ascending young talent and starting-caliber veterans. Kemba is going to sharing 2nd-fiddle duties with RJ Barrett, Evan Fournier, and Derrick Rose.

Prior to the Knicks signing Walker, Derrick Rose seemed to be penciled in as the starter, and the concern was the lack of depth behind him. If Rose was to get injured, how would those minutes be filled?

Immanuel Quickley and rookie Miles McBride? Both are exciting young talents, but nowhere close to being proven net-positive point guards in 2021.

Now, with Kemba Walker in the fold, Knicks fans can feel much better about their team’s depth.

Walker and Rose are not playing 82 games. The hope now is that if one were to miss some time, the other can step into an even more prominent role. Walker’s presence also takes a lot of pressure off of the younger guards on the New York Knicks roster, who can now continue to play complementary roles and learn from Walker and Rose as they progress in their young careers.

With Rose and Walker in the lineup, I’d expect them to both hover around 25-30 minutes per game. We could see Tom Thibodeau even deploy them together in the backcourt towards the end of games.

Opening night is a ways away, but this team is going to feel a lot different with both Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker in the lineup.