The Knicks addressed their lack of guard depth by inking Jordan Clarkson to a veteran minimum contract. Clarkson checks a lot of boxes for the Knicks; he can dribble and run an offense, create his own shot, and is a dribble-3-point threat. When diving into Clarkson's stats over the last few years, one glaring weakness jumps out: his inability to put pressure on the rim.
Most players that are available for the veteran minimum come with some flaws, which makes sense. If they were more complete players, they would command more money. The same thing is true with second-round draft picks. While many have upside, there are usually glaring weaknesses in their game.
Getting Clarkson on a veteran minimum is great value for the Knicks. He has scored more points off the bench than any active player in the league, and as I mentioned above, checks some key boxes for the Knicks.
During Brunson's time in New York, he has been the only guard on the roster who has been able to consistently get to the rim and finish; Clarkson doesn't help much there.
Clarkson struggles finishing
Last season, Brunson averaged three shots at the rim per 100 possessions, per league tracking data. He finished quite well on those shots, at 71.4 percent. The Knicks' other guards? Not so much. Landry Shamet averaged 2.3 attempts per 100 possessions, while Cameron Payne averaged 1.8.
Clarkson has trended in the wrong direction in that department over recent seasons. Last year, he averaged 2.8 attempts at the rim per 100 possessions, with a field goal percentage of just 54.4 percent, his worst mark in the last five seasons.
Clarkson drives a fair amount, at 22 drives per 100 possessions. However, he only generated 0.9 points per direct drive last season, his lowest mark in the last five seasons. One of the biggest reasons is Clarkson's drives rarely go all the way to the rim.
Out of his 444 drives last season, 43 percent ended in a shot by Clarkson. Of those shots, only 18.5 percent came at the rim.
The Knicks wings need to apply pressure on the rim
The Knicks guards did a good job of getting to the rim and finishing at a high percentage last season. Per league tracking data, Mikal Bridges finished in the 97th percentile in rim finishing last season, while Josh Hart was in the 81st percentile.
The Knicks will need more of that next season. Brunson is great at finding cutters, and the Knicks will need plenty of smart cuts and finishing from their wings if they are going to apply meaningful pressure at the rim.