The New York Knicks were one of the most impressive teams in the NBA last season. But since losing in the first round to the Atlanta Hawks, they’ve looked more like their usual self than like a legit championship contender.
Sitting at just 11-9 for the season, Tom Thibodeau’s team hasn’t been nearly as sharp as they were defensively last season. Adding Kemba Walker to the mix was supposed to give them the playmaking and scoring boost they craved last year but that just wasn’t the case.
Kemba has hurt the team on both ends of the floor to start the season, so Thibodeau had to make a tough call. That’s why he announced that starting on Tuesday’s clash against the Brooklyn Nets, Walker will be out of the rotation.
Knicks News: Tom Thibodeau Says Benching Kemba Was For The Best
“It’s a tough decision to make, but you always have to do what’s best for the team,” Thibodeau told the media, per The New York Post. “I view Kemba as a starter and I’ve got great respect for who Kemba is as a person, number one, and all that he’s accomplished in this league. But I have to do what I think is best for the team.”
When asked about the decision to shift Alec Burks to the point guard spot, the former Bulls coach said that it was a matter of size and how that could help them turn the page on the defensive end:
“I just don’t like the way we’ve been trending, the inconsistency of our team and we’re gonna try to make a change,” Thibodeau explained. “I want to get bigger.I want our defense to be more intact.
The size is the big thing. It makes us bigger. We’ve got small guards and you add [Burks] to the mix, it gives us size at that position. It allows us to do things that are beneficial to the group. So the big thing is getting bigger. At times we play very good defense. Other times, we haven’t. Twenty games into it, we want to take a look at something different.”
NBA Rumors: Knicks Could Look To Acquire John Wall
Even so, Burks has never been a true point guard and the Knicks still have a need for another playmaker. And, according to A. Sherrod Blakeley of Bleacher Report, they could look to trade Kemba to the Rockets to try and bring John Wall:
“A source close to the Knicks indicated New York may also have a potential trade partner in the Houston Rockets, who are eager to move John Wall. (…)The key to a deal with New York will be the compensation agreed upon beyond those two marquee players,” read the report.
Wall hasn’t played a single minute this season and he’s never going to be the player he once was, let alone live up to that massive contract he’s under. But even if this move would be questionable, perhaps it’s just what they need to get over the hump.
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