Young playoff stars should awaken Knicks on Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin’s potential
By Adam Kester
The New York Knicks must elevate Quickley & Toppin
The time has come. No matter what your thoughts on Thibodeau or the playing time for the kids has been since last season, this is a different conversation now with these players going into their third year.
This is a different conversation coming off of a season where New York missed the playoffs as opposed to coming off being the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
It’s not even hyperbole at this point. This isn’t a Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr. or Kevin Knox situation, these are two young players who have genuinely shown serious NBA-level talent whenever they’ve been given any sort of consistent playing time.
Just because players like Taj Gibson and Alec Burks have experience, does not mean they should be playing over year three players who have the opportunity to be major long-term pieces. It’s an important adjustment for this team to make as they got a taste of where they truly stand in their rebuild.
Watching young players taken later in the first round like Poole and Maxey fight their way through crowded, star-studded rotations with veteran coaches, only to become key contributors on their playoff teams is the stuff Knicks fans dream about. Next season will be critical in making that dream a reality.
