When the New York Knicks selected Kevin Knox II with the 9th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, there was a lot of optimism surrounding the pick. Knox was a raw prospect, but he had a sky-high ceiling with the tools to develop into an excellent player.
He showed some of those flashes as a rookie, appearing in 75 games and starting 57 of them. He averaged 12.8 points per game and made 34.3 percent of his 3-point attempts. It was a solid showing, one the team hoped he would build upon.
Unfortunately, that has not been the case. Knox has struggled to find any consistency on either end of the court. Even with a revamped coaching staff that saw plenty of other players on the team develop last season, Knox was buried on the bench as he couldn’t crack the rotation.
As a result, Knox has been part of plenty of NBA trade rumors. He has seemingly been on the trading block for a while, but nothing has come to fruition.
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Despite that, Knox isn’t letting the rumors bother him, as he is focused on improving on the court.
“Right now, no one has really solidified minutes, solidified starters and bench players. So it’s going into camp, going into the season with the right mindset that I really want to play this year. So I’m going to have to figure out a way to stay on the court and get minutes. So I’m really not worried about the trades and everything else. I’m just worried about getting in the rotation and being on the court.’’
Kevin Knox II has the right mindset. Alas, there may not be many minutes for him to compete for. New York has excellent depth across the board and it is hard to envision where he may get minutes.
There is a chance that Knox is last on the team’s depth chart. Power forward looks like his long-term position, but that is where All-Star Julius Randle and 2020 lottery pick Obi Toppin get their minutes.
If he played small forward, the path is even cloudier there. Evan Fournier was signed to a lucrative deal in free agency and is likely the starting small forward. Alec Burks was retained and will play minutes on the wing. RJ Barrett has received playing time there as well and rookie Quentin Grimes could factor into the rotation as well at some point.
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Despite the uphill battle, Knox is ready to compete for a chance to play.
“I got to compete for it,’’ Knox said. “Everything Thibs preaches is working for your spot, working for your minutes. That’s my mindset going into camp. Really working hard for my minutes, working hard to get into the rotation. That’s my motivation — to play hard on both sides of the basketball court if I really want to be on the court.’’
Kevin Knox II failed to make an impression enough to remain in the rotation last season, so it is hard to envision him doing it this season. But, from the sounds of it, he is going to do everything that he can to crack the rotation and get minutes this season in the Knicks’ rotation.
