New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale is in no hurry to name a starting point guard as he approaches his first year in charge of the team.
“I’m going to let them fight it out for who starts,” Fizdale said of Frank Ntilikina, Emmanuel Mudiay and Trey Burke, per ESPN.com’s Ian Begley. “But I see all of them serving a purpose for the way I like to play.”
Ntilikina seems to be the most logical option to start at the point for New York.
He’s only a year removed from being the eighth overall pick in the NBA draft, though he didn’t have a great rookie season. The French international averaged 5.9 points and 3.2 assists and shot just 31.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Burke, on the other hand, played well after joining the team in January. He averaged 12.8 points and 4.7 assists to just 1.2 turnovers. His improvement with the Knicks still has to be weighed against his disappointing stints with the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards.
At the very least, Mudiay is likely out of the running. The Knicks had a minus-16.1 net rating with him on the court over 22 games, per NBA.com, which was the worst on the team.
Perhaps the bigger question is whether any one of Ntilikina, Burke or Mudiay is the Knicks’ long-term answer at point guard.
Earlier this month, Fizdale praised the efforts of team president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry to lay the groundwork for the summer of 2019, when Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson and Jimmy Butler are all eligible for free agency.
Begley reported some in the league believe Irving will at least consider the Knicks as an option should he hit the open market.
In the meantime, Fizdale and his staff will have ample opportunity to evaluate whether Ntilikina, Burke or Mudiay can be counted upon as the franchise continues its lengthy rebuild.
Courtesy: Bleacher Report
