The NY Knicks’ rookies must ger more involved in 2022
Leon Rose, Walt Perrin, and the rest of the staff responsible for scouting and drafting players couldn’t have done a much better job than they have the past two seasons.
In 5 years’ time, I wouldn’t be surprised if both Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley are recognized as two of the top 7 or 8 players drafted out of the 2020 NBA Draft.
And honestly, the same can be said of both Quentin Grimes and Deuce McBride when discussing the 2021 NBA Draft.
We haven’t seen much of Rokas Jokubaitis but he also looks like he will one day make some noise as an NBA player.
And of course, we can’t forget about the high-flying, rim-runner Jericho Sims.
I think Thibs has done a decent job so far of getting the young guns involved, but it seems to be happening more so out of necessity as opposed to trusting these guys and letting them play any amount of meaningful minutes.
But the numbers speak for themselves.
Grimes is a gamer. He’s got ice running through his veins and looks to be a sniper from deep.
In just his last two games he’s 12 for 25 from 3-point range…put this kid in the friggin’ rotation already.
Deuce McBride has a little more work to do, especially in the playmaking and scoring departments but his defensive aggression and willingness to pick up his man the full length of the court is not a quality you find in many players across the league.
Once all these kiddos come back healthy and ready to get back to playing basketball at full strength, I wanna see all of them featured a little bit more than they have been.
The Knicks can right the ship, there’s no doubt about that, but Thibs, the front office, even the players on the team know they’re not winning a title this year.
So why not let the rooks shine a little bit more throughout the season, especially when their contributions actually lead to winning ball games?