Criticism of Karl-Anthony Towns is officially reaching critical mass. Some of it might go too far. Most of it is fair, measured, and quite frankly, earned by the big man himself. The New York Knicks have no choice other than to fix what’s becoming a mushrooming problem, and the solution isn’t a trade.
It’s Tyler Kolek.
This isn’t an indirect way of saying the Knicks need to play Jalen Brunson less. That would be infinitely irrational. Kolek’s ability to unlock Towns, to optimize him, extends to lineups with or without JB. And New York needs to more thoroughly explore…all of them.
Karl-Anthony Towns needs Tyler Kolek’s playmaking
It should come as no surprise that Towns is scoring a boatload more when Kolek plays. Those minutes inherently overlap with stretches in which some of the Knicks’ other primary scorers, including Brunson, are on the bench.
The efficiency with which Towns scores alongside Kolek is what matters most—and what is most revealing. Here’s a look at KAT’s shooting splits with and without the 24-year-old:
- KAT without Kolek: 52.8 percent on twos, 33.8 percent on threes
- KAT with Kolek: 51.0 percent on twos, 41.9 percent on threes
Towns’ efficiency on threes stands out most. As it should. His struggles from beyond the arc this season are unprecedented.
Still, the two-point looks he’s getting during his minutes with Kolek are generally easier as well. Around 63.3 percent of his attempts inside the arc come off assists during these stretches. That is a 12-point drop from the 51.3 percent mark he posts without Kolek.
The degree to which this matters cannot be understated. For all of Towns’ offensive talent, he is at his best, his most comfortable, when getting teed up for shots. Just 54.2 percent of his twos this season are coming off dimes. That’ll be the third-lowest mark of his career if it holds. Not surprisingly, he’s never been less efficient inside the arc.
Divvying up blame is complicated. It isn’t one person’s fault. Brunson is a top-10 player, but not a top-tier two-man game maestro. Towns has to be more fungible. Mike Brown needs to do a better job of putting his highest-paid player in his wheelhouse.
The Knicks can unlock Towns without straying from their identity
Kolek can be the vessel through which the Knicks juggle everything. He isn’t inches taller than Brunson, but he’s a more versatile live-dribble passer. He maintains his dribble with the intention of throwing pocket passes and kick-outs, or letting players move around him. Brunson is looking to score, and/or draw contact.
This duality to how they play needn’t be mutually exclusive. The Knicks can get away using them together. Brunson is working off the ball more, which allows for more flexible lineup structures.
Rolling him out alongside Kolek and Towns is the middle ground. New York can’t stagger Brunson and Towns all the time. That won’t fly in crunch time, or the playoffs. Towns can be tethered to Kolek whenever he’s separate from Brunson, but the Knicks’ title chances fall apart if JB and KAT can’t operate as a tandem.
Hopes of their developing dominant synergy are fading. The Towns-Brunson connection suffers from serial underuse, and warring styles. Kolek looks like he can be an intermediary who drums up Towns’ usage and involvement, without undermining Brunson’s own.
None of this is a guarantee. It’s more like an informed hunch. We’ll get a better peak into the Kolek-Towns dynamic while Brunson recovers from his ankle injury.
If it continues to hold up, the Knicks should probably rethink their whole “deal for another ball-handler mandate” at the trade deadline—not necessarily because they can’t do better than Kolek, but because they may not find someone as capable of breathing much-needed life and sensibility into Towns, and the awkward dynamic between himself and Brunson.