The New York Knicks have been known to be relatively conservative when it comes to the draft. Under the Leon Rose regime, they have mostly traded away their draft picks for more draft capital to use in trades.
The Knicks have not gotten a big enough impact from the young players
While that strategy worked fine in years past, it’s starting to come back to haunt them. The Knicks have four second-year players and one rookie at the end of the bench, and a lot of fans believe that they are deserving of playing time.
However, Saturday against the Orlando Magic revealed a devastating reality. None of the young players has developed well enough to be consistent rotation pieces, which is very alarming given the lack of depth the Knicks have in some areas of the roster.
Mohamed Diawara saw some extra playing time in the game as a result of the injuries that have plagued the team, and while he made some nice defensive plays, he was a ghost offensively. Diawara shot 0-for-4 from the field in 10 minutes of action and didn’t come relatively close on any of his shot attempts.
Furthermore, Tyler Kolek failed to make a true impact on the court. While he was solid offensively with eight points in 17 minutes, his inability to defend makes it even tougher to find minutes for him, a very concerning trend for the former NCAA assists leader.
The Knicks have not done a good job of developing their young players
Ariel Hukporti and Pacome Dadiet still couldn’t find minutes despite the injuries, only appearing in Saturday’s game during garbage time. Both players have experienced their ups and downs during their brief NBA stints, but it is also clear that they are still far from being consistent rotation pieces.
The lack of development from the young players is concerning, as now the Knicks might need to lean on them more with OG Anunoby out for a few weeks and Landry Shamet likely out longer. Part of the blame can be towards Tom Thibodeau, as he rarely played his rookies last season while he was still head coach of the Knicks.
However, none of them have made major leaps in practice or in the G-League to warrant more playing time. That is concerning for a team relying on depth to make a run to the NBA Finals.
With the opportunity that might be given to them with the shorthanded roster, this is their chance to prove that they can make strides big enough to possibly be rotation pieces. If they don’t show enough improvement, trade talks could heat up involving the young players.