The Knicks had a great regular season, and overcame some adversity, but were a gritty, gutty team the whole way. Now there were some new faces that contributed to this great year, and some players from past years who also made very nice contributions, so let’s get to the free agent signings from this past summer.
Free Agent Additions
1. Jalen Brunson, PG, 4 years
2. Isaiah Hartenstein, PF/C, 2 years
3. Mitchell Robinson, C, 4 years
4. Jericho Sims, PF/C, 3 years
5. RJ Barrett, G/F, 4 years
Jalen Brunson
Let’s start with Brunson, who one could argue was the Knicks’ best player this year. Brunson played 68 games this year, and didn’t disappoint. He averaged 24.0 points, 6.2 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game this season. He also shot 49.1% from the field and 41.6% from three this year. When healthy, Jalen was the x-factor for this Knick team and freed up Julius Randle’s game, who I’ll talk about later.
Isaiah Hartenstein
Hartenstein was overall very good this season, and was detrimental to this Knick team when Mitchell Robinson went down a couple of times this year. He averaged 5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while shooting 53.5% from the field this season. While Hartenstein DID have a rough start to the season, he kept working and mentioned how he had support from guys like Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson. Not to mention, Hartenstein can really pass the ball for a big man, and was the only Knick to play all 82 games.
Mitchell Robinson
Mitchell Robinson was also a huge part to this Knick team when healthy. In 59 games this season, Robinson averaged 7.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, and shot 67% from the field this season. Robinson did add 2 blocks per game and almost a steal per game to this stat line. He overall played a good season, and is gonna be a huge part to this Knick defense in the playoffs.
RJ Barrett
See now here’s a controversial player. RJ Barrett signed a 4 year extension with the Knicks this past offseason after a nice season. Barrett struggled a ton, and had a ton of ups and downs. In 73 games, Barrett averaged 19.6 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. He shot 43.4% from the field, but an alarming 31 from three. Barrett’s struggle from three was bad down the stretch, but one thing that really helped his game was in the paint, where he can use his size to his advantage. Barrett will look for a bounce back in the postseason.
Jericho Sims
Sims was not bad by any means this season, and actually was another key part to the team when guys like Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, or Obi Toppin went down. Sims, who’s a high flyer, averaged 3.4 points, and 4.7 rebounds per game this year while shooting 77.6% from the field. Sims played overall well, but there’s some things he can change as well to earn more time.
Now let’s get to some Knicks that were on the team last year and before that. Here’s where the Knicks got a very great impact this year.
Julius Randle
Randle came into this season in the bad graces of Knick fans, coming off of a very frustrating season. He never let any of this frustration get to him going into this season. He overcame a lot of adversity. In 77 games this year, Julius averaged 25.1 points, 10 rebounds, 4.1 assists, while shooting nearly 46% from the field and 34% from three. Randle also drained 218 threes this year, coming 23 shy of Evan Fournier’s record of 241 before an ankle injury ended his regular season. Can Julius come back by game one and make an impact? Only time will tell.
Quentin Grimes
Grimes has turned into an elite defender and can shoot a three from just about anywhere. In 71 games this year, Grimes averaged 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. He was also pretty efficient, shooting 47% from the field and 39% from three. He was also great down the stretch. In his last 9 games, he averaged 22 points, 4.2 rebounds and almost 4 assists per game. He can get it done on both sides of the ball, and that’s something Knick fans can look forward to.
Immanuel Quickley
Immanuel Quickley had a great season off the bench, and fans around the league, including Knick fans, believe he should be the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year of the Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon. Quickley played in 81 games, averaging 15 points per game, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. He shot about 45% from the field, and 37% from three. Quickley also played a big role on a Knick defense who ranked top 10 in a lot of categories, averaging a steal per game. Quickley is gonna look to keep his great play going in the playoffs.
Obi Toppin
Obi Toppin looked for a huge year this year after he saw an April last year when he showed the Knicks what he could do when he’s given consistent playing time. Now even though he didn’t get a lot of minutes (understandably so), because Julius Randle, an all-star was the man in front of him, Toppin saw a similar April that he saw last year. Randle went down with an injury, and Toppin picked him and the team up. In 67 games this year, Toppin averaged 7.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, while shooting 45% from the field and 35% from three. In his last 5 games though, Toppin averaged 21.8 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game. If Randle cannot go for game one of the first round in Cleveland, look for Toppin to get his first playoff start.
Josh Hart
Josh Hart was acquired at the trade deadline, and became a Knick. He was flipped for Cam Reddish, but he was very worth it, and here’s why. In 25 games with the Knicks after the trade deadline, Josh Hart averaged 10.2 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. He also shot 58% from the field, and 52% from the three point line. Not only this, but Josh Hart playing with so much heart every single game made the Knicks fans love him. The Knicks as a team went 18-8 with Hart. Josh will now make his playoff debut on Saturday.
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