Aside from the younger franchise player-level guys like Ja Morant and Jayson Tatum taking their games to even greater heights, we’ve seen countless other players on rookie contracts playing major minutes.
Players like Jordan Poole, Tyler Herro, Desmond Bane, and Tyrese Maxey — all of whom were late-lottery to late-first-round picks. They’ve all received incremental increases in playing time and experience, only to become major playoff contributors.
The “play the kids” vs. “trust the coach” debate has been a continuous one all year long in the Knicks community. So while this certainly still has to do with playing time last season, let’s make this more about next season, which will be Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin’s third year in the NBA.
Maximizing players on their rookie contracts is something that is always discussed in the NFL, and maybe it should be talked about more in the NBA — especially for younger, lower-level teams like New York.
Every career trajectory is different. In your rookie, and even your sophomore years, I have no issue with promising young players playing a small role. But if they’re showing clear starter potential by year three, you HAVE to find a way to get them major minutes.
What’s the point of keeping them on the bench when their next contract is coming up? Here are some of the minute per-game jumps from some of the NBA playoff performers mentioned earlier:
Here’s the thing: Quickley and Toppin could still be on the correct path in their player development. Despite all of the noise and complaints from fans, we can say one thing for sure: Both players improved from their rookie to sophomore seasons.
This has more to do with how critical this upcoming season is for these players than it does being salty about last season. The Knicks could have some key foundational young players on the team who need to be more involved next year, starting with the young guard who’s gotten praise from around the NBA, Quickley.
New York Knicks</a> may be watching the NBA playoffs from home but that doesn’t mean they can’t be learning from them. The NBA landscape is as exciting as ever, with no clear favorite to win the title and teams mixing in superstars in their primes, experienced playoff veterans, and rising young stars taking over games.</p>
<p style="text-align: left">Aside from the younger franchise player-level guys like Ja Morant and Jayson Tatum taking their games to even greater heights, we’ve seen countless other players on rookie contracts playing major minutes.</p>
<p style="text-align: left">Players like Jordan Poole, Tyler Herro, Desmond Bane, and Tyrese Maxey — all of whom were late-lottery to late-first-round picks. They’ve all received incremental increases in playing time and experience, only to become major playoff contributors.</p>
<h2>The NBA playoffs should be a wake-up call for the New York Knicks</h2>
<p>The “play the kids” vs. “trust the coach” debate has been a continuous one all year long in the Knicks community. So while this certainly still has to do with playing time last season, let’s make this more about next season, which will be Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin’s third year in the NBA.</p>
<p>Maximizing players on their rookie contracts is something that is always discussed in the NFL, and maybe it should be talked about more in the NBA — especially for younger, lower-level teams like New York.</p>
<p>Every career trajectory is different. In your rookie, and even your sophomore years, I have no issue with promising young players playing a small role. But if they’re showing clear starter potential by year three, you HAVE to find a way to get them major minutes.</p>
<p>What’s the point of keeping them on the bench when their next contract is coming up? Here are some of the minute per-game jumps from some of the NBA playoff performers mentioned earlier:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Jordan Poole</strong> 2020-21 (Year 2) 19.4 Minutes Per Game — 2021-22 (Year 3) 30.0 Minutes Per Game</li>
<li><strong>Desmond Bane </strong>2020-21 (Year 1) 22.3 Minutes Per Game — 2021-22 (Year 2) 29.8 Minutes Per Game</li>
<li><strong>Tyrese Maxey</strong> 2020-21 (Year 1) 15.3 Minutes Per Game — 2021-22 (Year 2) 35.3 Minutes Per Game</li>
<li><strong>Tyler Herro </strong>2020-21 (Year 2) 30.3 Minutes Per Game — 2021-22 (Year 3) 32.6 Minutes Per Game</li>
</ul>
<p>Here’s the thing: Quickley and Toppin could still be on the correct path in their player development. Despite all of the noise and complaints from fans, we can say one thing for sure: Both players improved from their rookie to sophomore seasons.</p>
<p>This has more to do with how critical this upcoming season is for these players than it does being salty about last season. The Knicks could have some key foundational young players on the team who need to be more involved next year, starting with the young guard who’s gotten praise from around the NBA, Quickley.</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/2022/05/09/young-playoff-stars-awaken-knicks-immanuel-quickley-obi-toppin-potential/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Quickley's Potential </a>
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<h3>The Knicks have a dynamic guard in Immanuel Quickley</h3>
<p>We saw Quickley take a big leap in his game in the latter half of his sophomore season. While IQ spent most of the year in a reserve role, there are a few different numbers to showcase how impactful he was when given a more significant opportunity.</p>
<p>When he <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/05/09/young-playoff-stars-awaken-knicks-immanuel-quickley-obi-toppin-potential/"https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/immanuel-quickley-as-the-starter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">started this past season</a>, he averaged 22.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists, although that was just across three games. In 18 games this season <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/05/09/young-playoff-stars-awaken-knicks-immanuel-quickley-obi-toppin-potential/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/q/quickim01/gamelog/2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">where he played 27+ minutes</a>, he averaged 18.3 points, 5.6 assists, and 5.6 rebounds. New York went 11-8 in those games. The numbers are there.</p>
<p>The Knicks, as a team, have some veterans they rely on to play heavy minutes. Players who are under big contracts such as Julius Randle and Evan Fournier are key parts of the team. Yet within the team’s backcourt, the rotation soon became a mess when Derrick Rose went down with an injury and Kemba Walker was sidelined.</p>
<p>Yet somehow, it took until almost the very end of the year for Quickley to cement himself into a big role. Even the biggest Tom Thibodeau supporters would have to admit that this was maybe his biggest blunder this year.</p>
<p>The “Is Immanuel Quickley a point guard?” debate was at the center of the discussions around his playing time. I tend to believe Quickley can play point guard in this league. There are plenty of “score first” guards who handle their team’s point guard position.</p>
<p>Getting to the rim is maybe the biggest weakness in Quickley’s game. While he can improve in that area, it’s hard for me to see him becoming an elite penetrator with the ball in his hands. Even still, there are plenty of these combo-guard types who do most of their passing and scoring away from the basket that thrive in today’s NBA.</p>
<p>Typically, those guards play alongside playmaking wings and frontcourt players — which the Knicks have in RJ Barrett, Randle, and (to an extent) Fournier. Both the fit and the role is right there for Quickley. He played point guard for almost his entire career up until college, so he has those instincts.</p>
<p>His shooting, playmaking, and perimeter defense can make New York’s starting unit better. Unless there is a significant signing in the team’s backcourt, there really shouldn’t be much in the way of Quickley getting consistent minutes and being able to put up those exact numbers we saw last season when given the chance.</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/2022/05/09/young-playoff-stars-awaken-knicks-immanuel-quickley-obi-toppin-potential/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Obi Toppin </a>
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<h3>The Knicks must unlock Obi Toppin</h3>
<p>Obi Toppin’s path to consistent playing time isn’t quite as clear-cut as Quickley’s. The Knicks have put themself in quite the conundrum, <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/05/09/young-playoff-stars-awaken-knicks-immanuel-quickley-obi-toppin-potential/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/05/05/knicks-stunt-obi-toppin-growth-julius-randle-stays/">with Randle being paid a large contract and struggling while Toppin plays off of the bench</a>. Neither player has a lot of positional versatility.</p>
<p>Toppin has also had more glaring struggles when he sees the court. That doesn’t mean he’s not deserving of a larger role in his third season.</p>
<p>We saw some real, big-time games from Toppin towards the end of the year. High-volume scoring from all three levels. Terrific vision and passing from the frontcourt. And as always, nonstop attacking the rim with or without the ball. Toppin the rim-runner has always been there. That’s his bread and butter.</p>
<p>The parts of his game such as his playmaking and shooting — those have been some of the key areas where he’s flashed but hasn’t been able to put it all together. Until he started seeing consistent minutes at the end of the season.</p>
<p>Toppin turned in some absolutely monster performances that I’m not even sure his biggest truthers could have seen coming. It became painfully obvious that for Toppin, the biggest thing holding him back was his lack of consistent playing time.</p>
<p>The short leash that he’s had in his young NBA career has been holding him back. While it could be justified in his rookie season, going into year three, things are going to have to change.</p>
<p>Those other dimensions of his game: the shooting, playmaking, and <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/05/09/young-playoff-stars-awaken-knicks-immanuel-quickley-obi-toppin-potential/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/02/28/new-york-knicks-obi-toppins-shooting-remains-key-evolution/">overall scoring remain so vital to his success</a>. Toppin has even spoken about how much easier it is for him to be consistent when he’s seeing the court frequently.</p>
<p>The Knicks cannot let their former No. 8 overall pick simply waste away, and they’ll have to get creative with how they use him next year.</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/2022/05/09/young-playoff-stars-awaken-knicks-immanuel-quickley-obi-toppin-potential/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Taking the next step </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-126867" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/05/09/young-playoff-stars-awaken-knicks-immanuel-quickley-obi-toppin-potential/"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%2F2022%2F04%2F1386957805.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks, Obi Toppin" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/04/1386957805.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/04/1386957805-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Obi Toppin, New York Knicks. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
</div>
<h3>The New York Knicks must elevate Quickley & Toppin</h3>
<p>The time has come. No matter what your thoughts on Thibodeau or the playing time for the kids has been since last season, this is a different conversation now with these players going into their third year.</p>
<p>This is a different conversation coming off of a season where New York missed the playoffs as opposed to coming off being the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.</p>
<p>It’s not even hyperbole at this point. This isn’t a Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr. or Kevin Knox situation, these are two young players who have genuinely shown serious NBA-level talent whenever they’ve been given any sort of consistent playing time.</p>
<p>Just because players like Taj Gibson and Alec Burks have experience, does not mean they should be playing over year three players who have the opportunity to be major long-term pieces. It’s an important adjustment for this team to make as they got a taste of where they truly stand in their rebuild.</p>
<p>Watching young players taken later in the first round like Poole and Maxey fight their way through crowded, star-studded rotations with veteran coaches, <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/05/09/young-playoff-stars-awaken-knicks-immanuel-quickley-obi-toppin-potential/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/04/20/knicks-allow-immanuel-quickley-follow-tyrese-maxey-footsteps/">only to become key contributors on their playoff teams is the stuff Knicks fans dream about</a>. Next season will be critical in making that dream a reality.</p>
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