As the New York Knicks continue the interview process for a new coach, President Leon Rose is watching a movie and is presumably working with his new front office staff to evaluate the list. According to Shams Charania, a player who could be in the commercial block is the choice of the 2018 NBA lottery Kevin Knox.
“Kevin Knox, for whatever reason, hasn’t caught on in the Knicks yet, and his future could very well be in the air going into the next year,” said Charania. “It will be interesting to see if they dangle it in commercial talks and how far it goes.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post reported earlier this month that Leon Rose is not sold in the second year wing and “desperately” wanted to use the last 16 games of the season to evaluate him. Obviously, that opportunity was lost due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Berman reported in March that former manager David Fizdale and interim leader Mike Miller both thought Knox had a “tendency to play soft” and consequently reduced his minutes this season.
Knox will be only 21 this summer. He will earn $ 4.6 million in the third year of his rookie scale contract. New York will have to decide whether to exercise its fourth year option before the start of the 2020-21 league season.
Rose is expected to make her mark on the Knicks log sooner rather than later. It would be foolish to think that he would not consider using Knox as a commercial piece as he tries to build around a core composed of Mitchell Robinson, RJ Barrett and whoever the team chooses in the upcoming draft.