Tyler Kolek has a message for anyone who wants the New York Knicks to acquire a backup point guard by the trade deadline: This team has already found its backup point guard. His performance while partnering with Jalen Brunson is proof.
Patience is so far being preached with the 24-year-old. We cannot declare the Knicks’ backup-guard rotation secure, the thinking goes, until Kolek checks all of the boxes.
Sustainability is the most important one. Yet, the sophomore floor general has been dropping regular flashes of his value for over a month, across his past 15 outings. That is more than half of the season. He might not continue to shoot 60 percent on two-pointers all year, but his vision, live-dribble instincts, and defensive effort are the real deal.
Mistakes are still part of the Tyler Kolek package. That is true of virtually any sophomore, particularly one tasked with quarterbacking the offense for stretches. And especially for anyone who logged fewer than 300 total minutes as a rookie.
Really, Kolek’s last frontier is conquering his fit beside Brunson. His capacity for steering the offense as the primary ball-handler is what gets him the 10 to 14 minutes per game in which New York’s superstar isn’t on the floor. To be considered a mainstay, however, Kolek must double as a backcourt partner for JB, someone who arms the Knicks with another decision-maker against defensive pressure, but who doesn’t create an awkward dynamic that coaxes the offense into kowtowing to one or the other.
Well, mission accomplished.
The Tyler Kolek-Jalen Brunson minutes are getting scary
The season-long minutes on the Brunson-Kolek pairing are not particularly pretty. New York is a minus-1.9 per 100 possessions when they share the floor. But the script is beginning to flip—in a big way.
Brunson and Kolek have logged joint minutes in four of New York’s past seven games. Over this stretch, the Knicks have outscored opponents by 26 points in 36 minutes, posting what would be the league’s best offensive and defensive ratings.
Although Brunson has been less efficient with Kolek on the floor, the majority of the dip comes inside the arc. His three-point clip jumps by 10.6 percent points, to 46.7 percent(!), alongside his fellow point guard. He is also scoring more often per 75 possessions, on a higher usage rate—not because he’s handling the ball more, but precisely because he’s able to be more of a play-finisher than a play-starter.
Kolek’s shaky jumper isn’t impeding the pairing, either. He has gone 2-of-5 from beyond the arc in minutes with Brunson. Even more importantly, the lanes are more open for Kolek’s drives with JB on the court. Not surprisingly, the sophomore is banging in over 80 percent of his two-point attempts (5-of-6) during these stretches.
The Knicks should tinker with their trade deadline approach
All signs currently point toward New York exploring the ball-handler market prior to the trade deadline. It is officially time to let that go.
Landing a bigger wing is more critical. Ditto, at this point, for another rim protector. If the Knicks can find someone who checks one of these boxes while also providing some additional ball skills, then great. But it is no longer a necessity.
Kolek has made sure of it—solidifying not only the Knicks’ actual biggest need at the trade deadline, but cementing his place on the roster, through this season, in the process.