Growing up in the south, it felt as if a young boy had two leisure activity options: huntin’ or fishin’. I was never a hunter. Truth be told, I was never much of a fisherman either, but I always found it more my speed than the alternative.
Constructing an NBA roster is way more akin to assessing a mess of crappie than you’d think, though. You’ve got to honestly assess the day’s haul that’s resting on the bottom of your boat.
Is this fish young and puny? Does this fish have a little meat on its bones? Or is this fish something different entirely? Is this the fish that hangs in my den until I die? Is this the fish that all my future fishing stories revolve around?
The Knicks have to ask the same questions as the NBA Trade Deadline rapidly approaches.
Any way you slice it, Leon Rose has a team that is far ahead of schedule. The expectations were low coming into the season. The Knicks needed to lose respectably, develop young talent, and secure a top draft pick.
Now here we sit a week from the All-Star break, and the Knicks are a playoff team and Leon Rose is at a crossroads. Should he make a move or two to solidify that playoff standing or stay the course of the initial expectations and continue to preserve assets for a later splash?
On the roster, the Knicks currently have some players that are “Mount ‘Em” players. These players are the foundational pieces you’d hope to build around.
There’s also a segment of players on the roster that are “Keep ‘Em” players. These players are players that the front office should not be actively shopping, but should also be ok parting ways with if the right deal presented itself before this year’s deadline.
Finally, there is a set of players that are “Throw ‘Em Back” players. These players are not necessarily bad, they just would not disrupt either the short or long-term goals if they were moved. Extract as much value as you can and keep it pushing.
As a point of clarification, I am only discussing players that have logged at least 50 minutes of game time according to NBA Math. So who is Mount ‘Em level, who is Keep ‘Em level, and who is Throw ‘Em Back level? Some of these answers will be controversial
New York Knicks</a> will have to assess every player on the roster as the trade deadline approaches</h2>
<p>Growing up in the south, it felt as if a young boy had two leisure activity options: huntin’ or fishin’. I was never a hunter. Truth be told, I was never much of a fisherman either, but I always found it more my speed than the alternative.</p>
<p>Constructing an NBA roster is way more akin to assessing a mess of crappie than you’d think, though. You’ve got to honestly assess the day’s haul that’s resting on the bottom of your boat.</p>
<p>Is this fish young and puny? Does this fish have a little meat on its bones? Or is this fish something different entirely? Is this the fish that hangs in my den until I die? Is this the fish that all my future fishing stories revolve around?</p>
<p>Do I throw ’em back, do I keep ’em, or do I mount ’em?</p>
<p>The Knicks have to ask the same questions as the NBA Trade Deadline rapidly approaches.</p>
<p>Any way you slice it, Leon Rose has a team that is far ahead of schedule. The expectations were low coming into the season. The Knicks needed to lose respectably, develop young talent, and secure a top draft pick.</p>
<p>Now here we sit a week from the All-Star break, and the Knicks are a playoff team and Leon Rose is at a crossroads. Should he make a move or two to solidify that playoff standing or stay the course of the initial expectations and continue to preserve assets for a later splash?</p>
<p>On the roster, the Knicks currently have some players that are “Mount ‘Em” players. These players are the foundational pieces you’d hope to build around.</p>
<p>There’s also a segment of players on the roster that are “Keep ‘Em” players. These players are players that the front office should not be actively shopping, but should also be ok parting ways with if the right deal presented itself before this year’s deadline.</p>
<p>Finally, there is a set of players that are “Throw ‘Em Back” players. These players are not necessarily bad, they just would not disrupt either the short or long-term goals if they were moved. Extract as much value as you can and keep it pushing.</p>
<p>As a point of clarification, I am only discussing players that have logged at least 50 minutes of game time according to NBA Math. So who is Mount ‘Em level, who is Keep ‘Em level, and who is Throw ‘Em Back level? Some of these answers will be controversial</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/02/28/knicks-roster-mount-keep-throw-back/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The Deep Bench </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-115109" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/02/28/knicks-roster-mount-keep-throw-back/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1294451629.jpeg" alt="Knicks" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1294451629.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1294451629-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Kevin Knox II, New York Knicks (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2><strong><em>Knicks: Mount ‘Em, Keep ‘Em, or Throw ‘Em Back: The Deep Bench</em></strong></h2>
<h3><em>Frank Ntilikina</em></h3>
<p>Let’s start with a divisive one right off the top. He has engendered loyalty from a huge segment of the Knicks’ fanbase that his play does not necessarily warrant.</p>
<p>We think. It’s hard to honestly know.</p>
<p>Ntilikina has logged limited minutes this season, but he has made the most of that time. He has posted a <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/02/28/knicks-roster-mount-keep-throw-back/"https://nbamath.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defensive points saved of 4.49 per</a> NBA Math, which is a top-five figure on the team.</p>
<p>But that’s what’s so baffling about his lack of minutes. How is it that such a high-level defender has sunk to the bottom of a Tom Thibodeau bench? Had it not been for Elfrid Payton’s injury, my gut says we wouldn’t have gotten to see that strong performance against the Kings.</p>
<p>I’m honestly not even sure what his trade market might even look like.</p>
<p>He’s the biggest enigma on the roster, which is why it is worth collecting some additional data on him. <strong>Decision: Keep ‘Em</strong></p>
<h3><em>Taj Gibson</em></h3>
<p>Recency bias will come into play big time with Taj Gibson.</p>
<p>If I had done this exact same exercise a month ago, I would have come up with a completely different answer for him, but circumstances have dictated otherwise.</p>
<p>Much like Ntilikina, Gibson is a major plus on the defensive side of the ball (3.88 DPS). Unlike Ntilikina, Thibodeau clearly trusts him, and Gibson has repaid that trust with productive basketball. His defensive effort was a key component of the win over the Timberwolves on February 21st.</p>
<p>Simply put, he’s a cheap reliable veteran big. I wouldn’t actively shop him, but if a title-contender really ponied up, I’d listen. <strong>Decision: Keep ‘Em</strong></p>
<h3><em>Kevin Knox</em></h3>
<p>Knox has logged more minutes than Gibson or Ntilikina, and I think the front office has enough data collected on who he is as a player.</p>
<p>There are definitely bright spots to his game. Per Basketball-Reference, Knox is having the best season of his career in both three-point shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage, but his offensive game feels limited for a former lottery pick now in this third season.</p>
<p>Knox is even more of a liability on the defensive end of the floor.</p>
<p>But the saddest thing for Knox is that he seems to be the one Kentucky player that Kenny Payne couldn’t save. Get what you can for him. <strong>Decision: Throw ‘Em Back</strong></p>
<h3><em>Austin Rivers</em></h3>
<p>Austin Rivers is having a reverse Taj Gibson kind of season. He was the absolute fan favorite of the early offseason media days, dropping Knick love bomb after Knick love bomb.</p>
<p>His early-season on-court play grew the love even further. (Seriously, remember Quivers? People have that on shirts.)</p>
<p>He also played one of the most insane halves of basketball I’ve ever seen on January 26th against the Jazz. That was only a month ago.</p>
<p>Since then, the bottom has dropped out. His minutes have been slashed and he appears to be playing like someone who is stuck in their own head. He’s even expressed that he sees the writing on the wall.</p>
<p>He seems to still love the idea of playing in New York, but those days might be numbered. <strong>Decision: Throw ‘Em Back</strong></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/02/28/knicks-roster-mount-keep-throw-back/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The 2nd Unit </a>
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I’ve written about it multiple times.</a></p>
<p>The worst thing for Payton is if Rose continues to play well while he is out. If that happens, the Knicks should sit Payton down and hit him with brass tax: Here are the teams that will give us the most value for you. Which one will you waive your no-trade clause for? <strong>Decision: Throw ‘Em Back</strong></p>
<h3><em>Reggie Bullock</em></h3>
<p>As the trade deadline approaches, Reggie Bullock and Alec Burks will be inextricably linked. If you move one, you should probably keep the other.</p>
<p>Bullock provides the Knicks with more on the defensive end but is mostly limited to being a catch-and-shoot player on the offensive side of the ball. He is the prototypical 3-and-D player. There are some contending teams that would ante up for a veteran of his playstyle to help solidify their playoff chances.</p>
<p>Bullock may be easier to move than Burks because of his slightly smaller salary. <strong>Decision: Throw ‘Em Back</strong></p>
<h3><em>Mitchell Robinson</em></h3>
<p>What can you get for 1.2 million dollars in the NBA?</p>
<p>Well, if you are the Knicks you can get a 22-year-old rim protector who serves as the defensive anchor for your starting five.</p>
<p>You also get a 22-year-old walking alley-oop who seems to still have some untapped potential on the offensive end of the floor.</p>
<p>Admittedly, having this conversation right now about Mitchell Robinson is much, much different than the potential conversation about him next year. When the Knicks pick up his option this offseason, the countdown begins on what to do next.</p>
<p>Next year the Knicks will have to ask themselves: Do we trade him so he doesn’t walk and we don’t come up empty-handed? Or do we pay him much, much more money?</p>
<p>For now, though, Robinson should not be going anywhere. <strong>Decision: Mount ‘Em</strong></p>
<h3><em>RJ Barrett</em></h3>
<p>My keyboard buttons have clicked out my feelings about RJ Barrett more than any other person on the Knicks roster. He’s the fishing story you always come back to because it’s the most interesting one to talk about.</p>
<p>On the one hand, RJ Barrett is a young, young player who has shown a tremendous amount of improvement in spots this season. He is an ever-improving wing defender. He has flashes of time where you can clearly see his offensive strengths and what kind of player he may become.</p>
<p>The difficult thing with RJ Barrett, as I have written before, is a lack of consistency. He has had multiple stretches of consecutive great outings, and multiple stretches of concurrent bad games.</p>
<p>At this point, I haven’t seen enough from him to say, unequivocally, that Barrett is a top-option on a championship team. If he is the piece that nets the Knicks that caliber of player, I think they have to consider it. <strong>Decision: Keep ‘Em</strong></p>
<h3><em>Julius Randle</em></h3>
<p>Julius Randle is the Marlin you caught on your deep sea fishing trip off the coast of Florida. He’s the piece you show off to guests immediately after they enter your home. He’s the conversation starter and the one you pose for pictures with. He’s the family heirloom that gets passed down through generations.</p>
<p>Simply put: You don’t trade him, you build around him and celebrate him. <strong>Decision: Mount ‘Em</strong></p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text='The Knicks FINALLY have their "Young Core"' data-url="https://dailyknicks.com/2021/02/27/new-york-knicks-young-core/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/02/28/knicks-roster-mount-keep-throw-back/"https://dailyknicks.com/2021/02/27/new-york-knicks-young-core/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> The Knicks FINALLY have their "Young Core" </a> </div>
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