The good: Positional need
The following is a list of New York’s primary point guards over the past decade of Knicks basketball (dating back to the 2011-2012 season):
- Immanuel Quickley
- Elfrid Payton
- Frank Ntilikina
- Emmanuel Mudiay
- Jarrett Jack
- Derrick Rose
- Lanston Galloway
- Jose Calderon
- Shane Larkin
- Raymond Felton
- Pablo Prigioni
- Iman Shumpert
With the expectation of a competent Derrick Rose sprinkled throughout the mix, the past ten years has been a revolving door of mediocre point guards.
And there’s little end in sight. Walker clearly isn’t the answer many hoped he would be. Rose is now 33-years-old and carries an expensive injury history while Quickley profiles as more of a combo guard or sixth man.
This solution could come via the 2022 NBA Draft but a flier on Fultz could provide another option. In his only “full” season in 2019-20, the former 2017 No. 1 overall pick averaged 12.1 points, 5.1 assists and 1.3 steals in 72 games.
Fultz isn’t the star power that New York craves. However, he’d be both a young and solid player with a notable upside to fill the point guard role as the Knicks focus on building the roster in other areas.
There’s a real possibility that Fultz would join the above list of mediocrity and that fear is legitimate. Yet, in a vacuum, his potential addition makes some sense. At least until you consider…