If you think the pang of regret from choosing Tyler Kolek at No. 34 in the 2024 draft over Ajay Mitchell is being softened by the New York Knicks’ current run of playoff dominance, well, think again. Selector’s remorse is about to get up close and personal if the Knicks make the NBA Finals, where they’d potentially run into the reigning-champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
To answer your question: No, I don’t enjoy putting sand in the potato salad. The Knicks are on a tear that has them breaking point-differential records, and have earned their status as not just the Eastern Conference favorite, but a juggernaut that was hiding in plain sight.
Every member and fan of the team should be basking in the afterglow of becoming the first squad to wrap up their second-round series. You know who the second one was, though? The Thunder. And you know who was one of the primary reasons why? Mitchell.
The Knicks still need another ball-handler
Between OG Anunoby’s dalliance with offensive stardom (pre-hamstring injury) and Karl-Anthony Towns doing his best Nikola Jokic impression, it’s easy to forget the Knicks don’t have a ball-handler beyond Jalen Brunson who they can trust. And by “trust,” I mean really trust.
Neither Anunoby nor Mikal Bridges engenders a ton of faith when facing ball pressure. Towns’ handles can be neutralized when guarded by smaller wings.
New York’s other options either don’t profile as on-ball decision-makers (Deuce McBride, Landry Shamet); don’t bring enough playmaking (Jordan Clarkson); are too small (Jose Alvarado); don’t shoot well enough off the dribble to work in the half-court consistently enough (Josh Hart); aren’t ready for minutes (Kolek); or some combination of everything.
This functional wart hasn’t come back to bite the Knicks…yet. Ripping through the Atlanta Hawks, who have similar issues, and the puddle-deep Sixers is one thing. Working around this issue will get much harder if they face the physically imposing Detroit Pistons in the next round, and most certainly if they meet the Thunder in the Finals.
Ajay Mitchell is already everything the Knicks need
Oklahoma City has barely missed a beat despite largely operating without Jalen Williams, who is no worse than its third-most important player. After Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, no one has been more important to the Thunder’s playoff rotation than Mitchell.
That is an absurd thing to write, say, and read when they have Chet Holmgren. It’s nevertheless true. Mitchell is averaging 18.8 points and 4.9 assists, while shooting 51.8 percent on twos and 36.1 percent on threes. It would not be a stretch to call him a three-level bucket-getter, because it’s the truth. He is shooting above 74 percent at the rim (75th percentile), 43.8 percent from mid-range (54th percentile), and 38.5 percent on above-the-break threes (69th percentile).
Mitchell isn’t benefiting from a streamlined role, either. Nobody on the roster has logged more minutes without SGA. During this time, the Thunder have an offensive rating north of 133. While Mitchell’s efficiency inside the arc dips in these stretches, he is canning 41.7 percent of his triples, and has capably handled more defensive pressure, posting an absolutely bonkers 6.7-to-1 turnover ratio.
No matter how good you’re feeling about the Knicks, you can’t pretend as if they couldn’t use someone like Mitchell. On the contrary, he is exactly what they need.
Perhaps he never develops into this if he’s taken by the Knicks. We’ll never know. Because they didn’t take him. Now, not only must they hope they can win it all without him, but if both they and the Thunder reach the Finals, they’ll need to hope they can win it all in spite of him, too.
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