The Knicks had limited financial flexibility heading into free agency and still came out addressing their greatest needs: adding 3-point shooting and ball-handling. They added guard Jordan Clarkson on a veteran minimum contract after he was bought out by the Jazz, followed by the signing of Guerschon Yabusele using their taxpayer mid-level exception. The additions also give the Knicks major lineup versatility, after lacking meaningful depth last season.
Now, part of the Knicks' depth issues had to do with how expensive their starting lineup was. Because of it, most of their bench consisted of journeymen playing on minimum contracts. The other component was that Tom Thibodeau famously plays his starters a ton of minutes while also having a tendency to not trust young or unproven players.
Whoever the Knicks' next head coach is, right now it seems to be leaning towards Mike Brown, will have some nice depth at his disposal. Also, perhaps more significantly, the addition of Yabusele will allow for some interesting lineup flexibility, which should generate a variety of looks for New York on the offensive end of the floor.
Yabusele brings both depth and flexibility
Ian Begley of SNY pointed out in a recent report that Yabusele's versatility was one of the factors that intrigued the Knicks' front office. Per league matchup data, Yabusele spent 46.7 percent of his time at forward, 27.1 percent of his time at center, and 26.3 percent of his time at guard. He will provide the Knicks the ability to play double-big lineups at all times, if that is the direction that they choose to go in.
Yabusele is a good 3-point shooter for his size. Last season, he shot 38 percent from deep on 274 total attempts. When he shares the floor with Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks will have two bigs who are capable of knocking down threes, which should open things up quite a bit for Jalen Brunson, as well as off-ball cutting lanes for their wings.
That said, Yabusele is more than just a spot-up shooter. He is also very good at putting the ball on the deck and attacking closeouts. Last season, the 76ers got 1.2 points per direct when Yabusele got a shot off after a defender closed out on him.
Regardless of who the Knicks' next head coach turns out to be, they will have plenty of options for how to construct the lineup, which should be a fun breath of fresh air for Knicks fans.