As the rest of the NBA learns about the amenities that will be included in their Disney hotels, the New York Knicks are one of eight teams that will watch the 2019-20 season resume from home.
It could be for the best as the team identifies a new manager, fills their front office with new hires and prepares for the 2020 NBA Draft. However, for some of the young players on the Knicks roster, losing the last 16 games of the season may have a cost.
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, the recently hired Knicks president Leon Rose is not being sold to Knox’s game and “desperately” wanted to see him in the last 16 games of the season which were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After learning from the fire during his beginner campaign under David Fizdale, Knox’s second season was a step backwards, which is saying something considering he wasn’t very good in 2018-19.
Playing with Fizdale and interim head coach Mike Miller this year, Knox never found his rhythm in the offense and continued to seem lost in defense. After the discontinuation of All-Star, the Kentucky product fell only 30.5% from the field. While Rose officially assumed the position of team president in early March, she clearly could not see the best of Knox. But nobody has done it in the NBA yet.
Could this mean that Rose will be quick to try switching from the previous lottery selection? Maybe not so fast.
The former Kentucky Knox assistant coach thinks that a new manager can make a difference.
“No question, I think a new staff will come in and be able to assess what the baby is and tell him what he needs to do,” Kentucky assistant Kenny Payne told the New York Post in a telephone interview this week. “It is starting with a clean slate. There are no prejudices about who he is. He can go out and feel comfortable and do things to help the team win. I think he will come back with a new and different fire. With a little adversity, you can achieve greatness. And it passed us. “
The Knicks appear to be on the verge of hiring Tom Thibodeau as the next head of the bench, but interviews are expected for player development guru Kenny Atkinson, former Knicks manager Mike Woodson, along with consideration for Mike Miller. How a new coach can unlock Knox’s potential would seem to be a key question in those interviews. It could also buy Knox a fresh start.