The Knicks' season came to an end earlier than fans would have liked, and they've wasted no time making their offseason wishlists for the team. Similarly, trade rumors about possible upgrades have become as frequent as rumors about who the next coach will be. And while everyone loves to put on their general manager cap and fire up the trade machine, the Knicks' biggest offseason upgrade may be their young players taking a step forward.
The Knicks' rookie trio of Tyler Kolek, Ariel Hukporti, and Pacome Dadiet didn't see much game time action in their debut seasons. That was to be expected, as Tom Thibodeau had a reputation for not playing his bench much, especially unproven rookies.
However, now with Thobodeau out as coach, this season should provide a golden opportunity for the Knicks' young talent to make names for themselves. Many of the Knicks' veterans, like Cameron Payne and Precious Achiuwa, appear unlikely to return. There will presumably be more vets coming in to fill out the roster, but depending on who the Knicks' next coach is, the soon-to-be second-year players should get a chance to break into the rotation.
Tyler Kolek's playmaking could earn him minutes
-----------------------------------------------
Kolek was selected with the 34th pick in last year's draft. At 24 years of age, he is older than both Hukporti (23) and Dadiet (19). Out of the three, he earned the most minutes last year, playing a total of 296 over 41 games.
The biggest thing that could earn Kolek minutes next year is his playmaking ability. Last season, he dished out a total of 105 potential assists, at a rate of 0.35 potential assists per minute spent on the court. For context, that ranked 33rd in the league for any player who played at least 275 minutes last season.
The Knicks' playmaking and ball handling, or lack thereof, were put on full display against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks were prone to poor decision-making, lost balls galore, and a shortage of backup guards who were capable of initiating offense when Jalen Brunson was on the bench.
If Kolek turns out to be capable of giving the Knicks real minutes off of the bench, it will be a massive boost to a team that had limited depth last year, even if it was partly due to their coach's refusal to take his starters off of the floor.