Breaking Down John Konchar’s Value and Potential With Knicks After Signing

On Tuesday night, the Knicks awoke from their long and quiet slumber to sign John Konchar to a one-year deal. But the signing, which has been speculated for some time now, may end up going overlooked with new arrivals like James Wiseman in the fold.

Konchar doesn’t impact the lack of center depth the team currently has. Nor is he a big name. But Konchar, despite being on the back end of a pretty crowded and deep forward position, could provide the defending champions with some very solid production.

John Konchar's appealing skills could turn Knicks tryout into success

Konchar, often referred to as Jitty, is the epitome of a grinder. After going undrafted out of Purdue-Fort Wayne in 2019, he won a spot on the Grizzlies roster. Although he only appeared in 62 combined games throughout his first two seasons, Konchar kept working on his game, and eventually became a key contributor on some good Grizzlies teams.

Between 2021 and 2023, he appeared in 72 games in back-to-back seasons, starting in 30 of those 144 contests. During that span, he averaged 5.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, and 1.5 apg while shooting 46.9% from the field and 37% from three.

In the three seasons since, Konchar’s availability, role, and shooting have become a bit more unpredictable. He did end last season on a very high note, though, averaging 5.9 pgg, 5.7 rpg, and 3.0 apg—while registering two triple-doubles in 26 games for the Jazz.

Even without a super reliable outside shot, there’s a reason Konchar was coveted by teams other than the Knicks. The veteran forward won over fans in Memphis with his ability to defend multiple positions effectively, rebound extremely well for his size, and make connective plays on the offensive end.

Konchar boasts a defensive rating of 110.9 over his career and finished out last season with an absurdly high 3.9 defensive box plus minus while averaging 2.0 as a pro. On the boards, he’s averaged 8.2 rebounds per-36 and has a 12.2 rebounding percentage, which is on the higher side for someone his size.

The per-36 is admittedly somewhat of an irrelevant statistic because he won’t play that many minutes much, if ever. But in Konchar, the Knicks get a veteran defender who can give a somewhat small bench some more toughness and rebounding.

A lot of how effective he’ll be may come down to who he shares the floor with and how Mike Brown deploys him. While Josh Hart is a significantly superior player, it could be useful to look at Konchar’s lineup flexibility in a somewhat similar way because of the way defenses will look to make him shoot.

Put Konchar next to other non-shooters and it could amplify his weaknesses while making life for his teammates more difficult. But if the forward could operate in a lineup with some combination of Jalen Brunson, Jose Alvarado, Deuce McBride, Mikal Bridges, Landry Shamet, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns, his lack of shooting may not be too detrimental for someone in spot regular season minutes.

It’s not even guaranteed that Konchar is on the roster come opening night. But given the reported interest that Konchar received from the Heat, Magic, and Raptors, he likely only would’ve chosen to sign with the Knicks if he thought he could make the roster.

If he does, he’ll start the season deeply entrenched in the depth chart behind Hart, Bridges, Anunoby, Shamet, and likely Diawara. But an NBA season is a long one where anything, including injuries, can happen. And we all just watched Brown meticulously utilize his bench during the regular season.

Tyler Kolek, Mohamed Diawara, Kevin McCullar Jr., and Ariel Hukporti all had significant moments. Shamet revived his career under Brown as well. What’s to say Konchar can’t do the same this season?

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