It looked like Kevin Knox, New York Knicks’ ninth overall pick in 2018 NBA Draft, is off to a great start of his NBA career. Knox started all Knicks preseason games, leading people to believe that he will be a starter in his rookie season. But New York’s head coach David Fizdale decided to go in other direction and announced on Tuesday Frank Ntilikina will take the starting spot from Knox at the beginning of the season.

According to Fizdale, Ntilikina, who was the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, earned to be a starter.

“I think the most important thing I was trying to get out of it was culturally you’ve got to earn it,” – said Fizdale. “I don’t think Kevin got to the point where he earned it more than Frank. But there were some good things for Kevin (in the preseason), and I was really happy with him having to go through highs and lows early on.“

Kevin Knox had a great showing in NBA Summer League, where he averaged 21.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. In the preseason games, however, he showed great inconsistency, shooting 33 percent from the field and averaging only 8.8 points per game.

“He had the two double-doubles early and then he hit a wall.” – added Fizdale. “That’s just a learning opportunity for him. I don’t want to reward that yet. I do think Frank, consistently throughout the preseason, no matter where I put him, he got the job done. So for our culture that’s more important.“

The role of a starter will be a new one for Frank Ntilikina, who spent his rookie season mostly coming off the bench. In 78 games played in the last season, Ntilikina averaged 5.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game.

The post Knicks’ Opt to Start Frank Ntilikina Over Rookie Kevin Knox appeared first on SportzBonanza.

New York Knicks were not a model organization for some time now, so it isn’t strange that they couldn’t attract any big free agents this summer or make some blockbuster trades. But, according to the team’s newly appointed head coach David Fizdale, that will all change in the summer of 2019.

According to Fizdale, the Knicks will be in place to “make some big moves” next year.

“[Knicks general manager] Scott [Perry] and [team president] Steve [Mills] have done an incredible job of lining it up so that we’re in a position next summer to make moves,” – Fizdale told reporters on Tuesday. “I just feel like with the relationships we’ve built and our approach to the game and our view of players and the way we view guys and the way we treat guys and the culture we want to build, I really think we’re going to find somebody who fits the bill. As we get our culture in place, [injured All-Star forward Kristaps Porzingis] gets healthy, we start moving into next summer, I really feel like we’ll have the bricks in place to make some big moves.“

One of that moves might be signing an All-Star caliber free-agent. Steve Mills spoke about Knicks’ cap situation last week and told reporters that the team aims to clear enough cap-space until next year so they can sign a max-salary player.

“We feel like we’re going to put ourselves in a position where stars are going to want to come to us,” – said Mills during his appearance on The Stephen A. Smith Show. “That’s what we think.“

The 2019 free agency promises to be an exciting one, with Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Kemba Walker all set to become free agents.

Some of these names wouldn’t be a long shot, especially since Kyrie Irving listed the Knicks as one of his preferred destinations when he asked for a trade from Cleveland Cavaliers last year.

The post Knicks to “Make Some Big Moves” in 2019 Says Head Coach David Fizdale appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It looked like Kevin Knox, New York Knicks’ ninth overall pick in 2018 NBA Draft, is off to a great start of his NBA career. Knox started all Knicks preseason games, leading people to believe that he will be a starter in his rookie season. But New York’s head coach David Fizdale decided to go in other direction and announced on Tuesday Frank Ntilikina will take the starting spot from Knox at the beginning of the season.

According to Fizdale, Ntilikina, who was the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, earned to be a starter.

“I think the most important thing I was trying to get out of it was culturally you’ve got to earn it,” – said Fizdale. “I don’t think Kevin got to the point where he earned it more than Frank. But there were some good things for Kevin (in the preseason), and I was really happy with him having to go through highs and lows early on.“

Kevin Knox had a great showing in NBA Summer League, where he averaged 21.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. In the preseason games, however, he showed great inconsistency, shooting 33 percent from the field and averaging only 8.8 points per game.

“He had the two double-doubles early and then he hit a wall.” – added Fizdale. “That’s just a learning opportunity for him. I don’t want to reward that yet. I do think Frank, consistently throughout the preseason, no matter where I put him, he got the job done. So for our culture that’s more important.“

The role of a starter will be a new one for Frank Ntilikina, who spent his rookie season mostly coming off the bench. In 78 games played in the last season, Ntilikina averaged 5.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game.

The post Knicks’ Opt to Start Frank Ntilikina Over Rookie Kevin Knox appeared first on SportzBonanza.

New York Knicks were not a model organization for some time now, so it isn’t strange that they couldn’t attract any big free agents this summer or make some blockbuster trades. But, according to the team’s newly appointed head coach David Fizdale, that will all change in the summer of 2019.

According to Fizdale, the Knicks will be in place to “make some big moves” next year.

“[Knicks general manager] Scott [Perry] and [team president] Steve [Mills] have done an incredible job of lining it up so that we’re in a position next summer to make moves,” – Fizdale told reporters on Tuesday. “I just feel like with the relationships we’ve built and our approach to the game and our view of players and the way we view guys and the way we treat guys and the culture we want to build, I really think we’re going to find somebody who fits the bill. As we get our culture in place, [injured All-Star forward Kristaps Porzingis] gets healthy, we start moving into next summer, I really feel like we’ll have the bricks in place to make some big moves.“

One of that moves might be signing an All-Star caliber free-agent. Steve Mills spoke about Knicks’ cap situation last week and told reporters that the team aims to clear enough cap-space until next year so they can sign a max-salary player.

“We feel like we’re going to put ourselves in a position where stars are going to want to come to us,” – said Mills during his appearance on The Stephen A. Smith Show. “That’s what we think.“

The 2019 free agency promises to be an exciting one, with Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Kemba Walker all set to become free agents.

Some of these names wouldn’t be a long shot, especially since Kyrie Irving listed the Knicks as one of his preferred destinations when he asked for a trade from Cleveland Cavaliers last year.

The post Knicks to “Make Some Big Moves” in 2019 Says Head Coach David Fizdale appeared first on SportzBonanza.