NY Knicks: A Way Too Early Prediction of the SG Depth chart

Unlike the Point Guard position, the NY Knicks have had their fair share of high-level and borderline elite-level talents at the Shooting Guard spot over the years.

I personally grew up on guys like Allan Houston, J.R. Smith, and Jamal Crawford, but of course, we can’t forget the likes of John Starks, Dick Barnett, and Earl ‘The Pearl’ Monroe.

The team has also had some fun guys to watch over the years such as Landry Fields who initially showed plenty of promise and 3-and-D studs like Arron Afflalo and Courtney Lee.

Today, the position has changed almost entirely where before, there was a significant difference between what you expected a Shooting Guard to do vs what a team needed out of a Small Forward.

What do you think the NY Knicks’ SG Depth chart will look like?

Nowadays, both positions are pretty much considered ‘the wing’.

For example, both RJ Barrett and Reggie Bullock would be considered your prototypical “shooting guards”.

Both played a similar role on both offense and defense and both were of a similar build and frame.

But depending on the matchup, you’d see either one of them playing the 2-guard while the other one was penciled in at the 3.

So for this article, I guess we’ll be discussing who I believe will be inserted at the shooting guard more often than not, as well as who’ll be tasked with defending the opposing team’s “shooting guard”.

Here is a way too early prediction of the Knicks’ Shooting Guard depth chart.

Will Evan Fournier be the NY Knicks’ starting SG?

New York’s prized summer-time addition, Evan Fournier will likely start the season at the starting 2-guard spot.

The 6’7 sharpshooting Frenchman brings several elements to a Knicks roster that they were sorely lacking in last season.

The Knicks definitely lose a step on the defensive side of the ball when replacing Bullock with Fournier, but gain a player who’s an absolute DOG.

We’re all in for a treat being able to watch Fournier and Kevin Durant chirp at one another 4 times per season.

That friendly rivalry will be a lot of fun for many years to come.

Now, aside from just Fournier being a gamer, he provides the Knicks with just as good of a 3-point shooting presence, with him maybe taking the slight edge on moving threes.

He’s also a 3-level scorer with an ability to create his own offense if need be, something the Knicks weren’t getting out of Reggie.

It seemed like Reggie was only ever good as an outlet pass for a driving Julius Randle or RJ Barrett and if he didn’t have a good enough look, the ball died in his hands or he’d just make another pass to someone else on the perimeter.

Fournier is a much more aggressive player when it comes to attacking the rim.

Lastly, the Knicks have another secondary ball-handler and playmaker coming aboard who can get more open looks for others and make the rest of the team better.

Miss me with the whole “The Knicks should have signed a star, like DeMar DeRozan” nonsense because Evan Fournier fits on this team’s roster like a glove.

Will Immanuel Quickley be the NY Knicks’ backup SG this season?

I really do hope to see a ton more Immanuel Quickley this season in comparison to last year.

Quickley ended the season averaging about 19 minutes played per game while putting up 40/39/89 scoring splits.

He also averaged about 11 points and 2 assists per contest.

Due to the Covid pandemic, ‘Quick’ and the rest of the 2020 NBA Draft class weren’t able to get a proper Summer League, so he definitely made up for lost time over the past few weeks.

They say Summer League doesn’t mean much, but that’s more to do with the stats players put up.

This year’s Summer League mattered for IQ because he was tasked with being a leader for the young guns on offense as well as the primary ballhandler.

I wrote an article a little while back in regards to my belief that Quick can be groomed into being a real deal starting-caliber point guard one day.

I hate the narrative that guys like him receive when they first come to the league.

When you’re a tweener, combo-guard who’s primarily score-first, you’re automatically boxed into the Lou Williams comparison.

I get it, Quick looks up to Lou Will, but that’s not the kid’s ceiling.

I think he’s already proving to be a superior playmaker and facilitator and with enough time, I could see him taking the starting PG spot one day.

That said, when your team has two veteran, former All-Star, former Superstar point guards with bad knees, I’m sure there’s gonna be plenty of opportunities this season for IQ to flex his point guard muscles.

So between him and Deuce McBride, they’ll hopefully both get some burn at the 1 and of course the 2-spot.

Where does Quentin Grimes fit into the NY Knicks’ SG rotation?

This is where things get a little tricky.

Depending on what the Knicks decide to do with Luca Vildoza, Miles McBride could very well be penciled in at the backup “shooting guard” although I do think McBride would get some burn at both the 1 and the 2 during this upcoming season.

If McBride were the backup shooting guard, it would likely move Quentin Grimes to the backup 3-spot.

But as I mentioned earlier, the 2 and the 3 are basically the same thing nowadays and are just considered the wing.

So to make things simpler and not go in circles, here we are.

Summer League started off pretty slow for Quentin, but boy did he close out the summer with a few special performances.

Over his six Summer League appearances, Grimes averaged 15.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists and shot 40.7% from 3-point territory.

This included a 28-point performance against the Cavaliers.

For as long as he remains under the tutelage of Tom Thibodeau, he’ll continue to learn how to become a better and better version of himself.

The prototypical 3-and-D player, I recently compared him to Danny Green and after seeing him play in real-time, I personally love the comp.

If Immanuel Quickley or even Alec Burks were to be forced to miss some time this season, I’d be happy to have Quentin Grimes get some minutes in the Knicks’ 10-man rotation.