Nine Minutes

The true measure of this Knicks team has barely begun

In the coming weeks and months, we'll get a fuller sense of what transpired on Sunday night, and what it means for the New York Knicks.

But there are some immediate ramifications for the decision to send out team executives Scott Perry and Steve Mills to address the media following Sunday night's loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. And it's hard to square them with either a realistic appraisal of this roster, or what would be the best possible outcome from this season.

Accordingly, let's start by defining our terms. The best possible outcome to this season, realistically speaking, is further development of the young, team-controlled Knicks. That is: RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina. All four of these players are Knicks through the end of next season, all four of these Knicks have shown signs of being something greater than their current level of effectiveness, and most encouraging for the Knicks, the likeliest best outcome for each one would seem to complement the others.

By which I mean: Frank Ntilikina's ceiling is a two-way point guard who can hit perimeter shots. RJ Barrett's ceiling is a 2/3 rangy wing who can defend and create his own shot. Kevin Knox's ceiling is a floor-spacer who can block some shots. And Mitchell Robinson's ceiling is a high-efficiency rim-runner and defensive game-changer.

None of those roles interfere with one another, and in fact, would reinforce each other. For instance, Ntilikina's abilities to run the offense should free up Barrett. Knox blocking shots should allow Robinson a freer hand to roam and create havoc on the defensive end. Knox's rainbows will force defenses to account for him, leaving ample room for Barrett drives and Robinson lob receptions. 

So on a roster with plenty of players who are skilled but limited, veterans who should be here to facilitate the youngsters and that's all, how many minutes have these four played together?

Nine minutes. And not even nine minutes at a time: nine minutes over five games. Which is to say, effectively no real time together. It is the 68th-most popular four-man lineup for the Knicks so far this season.

So here's the problem with a public declaration of what has been, we've now learned, part of the internal conversation for the Knicks for a while now: winning now, as much as possible, may not mean playing these four players together. David Fizdale's comment on Sunday night that the Knicks are just two games out of the eighth spot in the playoffs is true, as far as that goes, but an organization that is taking a realistic stock of its own roster and spot on the success arc wouldn't be the slightest bit concerned about its relative standing at the ten-game mark. That Fizdale made such a comment is revealing, it means he knows he has to be concerned enough about the playoffs to be tracking it this early.

And so whether Fizdale ultimately makes choices to play veterans over the young players, or gives them shorter leashes, will be to the detriment of their development. And truly, that's not on Fizdale, not when he's being told by his bosses that this team has to win, as much as possible, right away.

It is an ugly subtext to the report out of ESPN yesterday, which had executives laying the groundwork for Fizdale's exit for a while now — a move that screams of scapegoating from people who recognized that this roster, as constructed, wasn't positioned to win on a regular basis this season. Again, that's a broken process, not because the Knicks are 2-8, not because they missed on one free agent or another, but without realistic appraisal of where the team is, those making decisions cannot begin to fix what ails the team.

And the only real way to know what this team has on hand in terms of long-term assets is to play the kids. Other teams in New York's position get this. I asked Bobby Portis Sunday night about whether, in the wake of the loss to Cleveland, veterans need to step up.

Portis is right. The Cavs are going to win some, lose more, and at the end of the season, know a great deal about Collin Sexton, about Darius Garland, about Kevin Porter. That process was enough to beat the Knicks Sunday night, but it also wasn't the point.

And as long as the quartet of Knicks who could be, potentially, part of the next great New York team don't play much together, or play less at the expense of vets who should be viewed as potential trade chips after December 15, the Knicks will be missing the point, too.

Remember that as you watch David Fizdale's rotations on Tuesday night in Chicago. And remember, also, that this comes from Fizdale getting very specific marching orders.