The New York Knicks are 12-14, which is far better than most had predicted. That should tell you more about how low expectations were for them coming into the season than how good they are, though. After all, 2 games under .500 is hardly the goal for an NBA team.
Carmelo Anthony has somewhat slipped efficiency-wise, but he’s still an elite scorer. Rookie Kristaps Porzingis, formerly deemed a long-term project, has been effective immediately in the NBA as a scorer, shot-blocker, and offensive rebounder.
The Knicks’ primary problem lies in their backcourt. They have Jose Calderon, who is a high-IQ point guard, an excellent shooter, and a smart passer. However, his defense is horrendous. They have Arron Afflalo, who’s maddeningly inconsistent season-to-season. Look at his last 5 seasons in terms of 3-point shooting percentage(including this year): 30%, 42.7%, 33.7%, 40%, 32.8%. It’s like every other year he shoots lights out, but the other years he forgets how. Unfortunately, this is a down year for him. Try again next year.
The team also has two young point guards, rookie Jerian Grant and Langston Galloway. Grant has been terribly inefficient as a scorer thus far, which is often the case with first-year guards. Galloway has been better than Grant, and has actually shot a scorching 42.5% from long range. However, his field goal percentage is a paltry 37.5%. Grant and Galloway have bright futures, but neither is quite there yet.
You can’t call any of the Knicks’ guards elite. You can barely call them serviceable. This is evidenced by the fact that the team is last in the league in both fast break points and points off of drives(h/t ESPN). They don’t have any guards who can capably push the ball, or get to the rim. That’s a problem.
According to Ian Begley of ESPN, the Knicks are looking for help in the backcourt. Begley wrote:
But some members of the front office recently expressed interest in obtaining a young scoring guard or a shooter to improve the backcourt, sources said.
With that in mind, who should the Knicks target? Begley pointed to Kevin Martin, Jamal Crawford, or Brandon Jennings as realistic targets. Any of those three would certainly addd a scoring punch to the Knicks’ perimeter. None of them, however, are very good defenders. In my opinion, you want as good a defender as possible at the 2 spot if you’re the Knicks, since you have to hide Jose Calderon on defense, hardly an easy task.
However, if all the Knicks are searching for is a good scorer, then any of these 3 would fit the bill. Brandon Jennings would probably be the best option, if he looks good after his achilles injury(from which he should return very soon). If Jennings looks like he did pre-injury, he would be the preferable option. Jennings is only 26-years old, whereas Martin and Crawford are in their 30s. It’s usually better to target players who still have good years ahead of them. If the Knicks do go after Jennings though, they should err on the side of caution; achilles injuries are nasty.
