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This just in (not really…): the New York Knicks have point guard problems. Although it wasn’t the sole reason for the team’s shortcomings last season, the fact that Tom Thibodeau was forced to roll with Kemba Walker and/or Alec Burks at the position definitely played a big part in the team’s underperformance.
Without question, finding a legitimate lead guard should be the Knicks’ top priority this summer.
To that end, some would point to Jazz star Donovan Mitchell or the Mavs’ Jalen Brunson as the solution for New York. Others, meanwhile, believe the answer is already on the roster in 22-year-old Immanuel Quickley, and there may just be something to that.
Quickley was arguably the Knicks’ best player down the stretch; over the team’s final 22 games, he averaged 16.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.0 steals per contest while shooting 43.7% overall and 39% from deep.
Elsewhere, a former NBA exec has another idea about how the Knicks might address their backcourt situation.
Hollinger: Knicks Could Make a Play for John Wall
In a Knicks projection piece penned alongside Fred Katz, The Athletic’s John Hollinger — a former member of the Grizzlies front office — broke down New York’s weird point guard situation. One of his ideas was for the club to sign a mid-level vet for now and wait for a big opportunity to present itself later.
“Given New York’s scenario with its cap and its roster, the best move might be more of a short-term Band-Aid than a long-term answer, especially if Brunson is out of the picture,” Hollinger wrote. “Both John Wall and Eric Bledsoe are likely to be bought out of their deals this offseason.”
Hollinger seemed to double-down on Wall, who’s just a few years removed from his last All-Star appearance.
“Wall, in particular, would be an intriguing answer for New York on a one-year deal for the mid-level exception. Given the low cost, this might be better than shooting assets out the door for solutions that don’t raise the long-term ceiling.”
Now a member of the Rockets, Wall was benched for the entirety of the 2021-22 campaign. However, during the previous season, he showed that he still had some game despite his lengthy injury history. In 40 games with Houston, he averaged 20.6 points, 6.9 assists and 3.2 assists per game.
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Would Wall Be a Repeat of Past Mistakes, Though
There was certainly a level of excitement that came as a result of Walker’s signing last summer. Even then, though, there were major questions about the state of his knees. And, sure enough, his diminished abilities and physical state were a big storyline throughout the season.
Although a one-year deal would leave them in a better spot than they landed in with Walker’s two-year pact, bringing in Wall — or even Bledsoe — could ultimately yield similar results to that signing.
For his part, Wall has played all of 72 games over the last four years, and his last on-court appearance came more than a year ago in April of 2021. So, there’s no telling what exactly he’ll be able to do for the Knicks, who may be better off handing the reins over to a young gun if they can’t land a real star or super-solid youngster.
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