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Should The New York Knicks Consider Signing Tony Wroten?

By Sean Linhares

At the very least, Wroten could replace the whole JR Smith left when he was traded. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
At the very least, Wroten could replace the whole JR Smith left when he was traded. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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Should the New York Knicks consider signing recently released guard Tony Wroten?

The New York Knicks are in a precarious position as we head into the NBA trade deadline.

While this is still a team just a year removed from winning only 17 games, the Knicks have hopped out of a surprising 14-16 start and find themselves only a few games out of the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Despite having what appears to be a future star in Kristaps Porzingis and a current star beginning to evolve into a more complete player in Carmelo Anthony, fans in New York are known to be impatient and with this team seemingly capable of making a run into the playoffs, the pressure is on to not only win for the next decade, but also right now.

Again though, this is a franchise still very much in rebuilding mode and is still missing some pretty major pieces. Outside of Porzingis and Anthony, the Knicks have a solid unit of guards in Arron Afflalo, Jose Calderon, Langston Galloway and Jerian Grant, while also having a nice frontcourt consisting of Robin Lopez, Kevin Seraphin, and Kyle O’Quinn.

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Really, almost all of those players have been solid at the start of this season and could all fit into the future of this team as we transition into the KP-Era in New York. The problem with this year’s Knicks team isn’t necessarily what they have, it’s what they don’t have.

While Afflalo and Calderon are as steady a starting backcourt as you’ll find in the NBA, neither is known as a guard capable of getting to the rim off the dribble. Galloway and Grant provide some nice pop off the bench, but Galloway has struggled with shooting woes after a hot start and Grant has seen his minutes decrease over the last few weeks, leaving coach Derek Fisher without a guard capable of consistently getting himself to the basket to score.

That may not sound like a necessity in the triangle offense, an offensive scheme that relies heavily on midrange shooting and passing — abilities all of the current Knicks guard currently posses. However, Fisher’s version of the triangle is much more relaxed and fluid, with the second year coach repeatedly exclaiming that he’d like to see his team get out and run more in transition.

Enter Tony Wroten.

At the very least, Wroten could replace the hole in my heart JR Smith left of being an absolute and pure baller when he was traded last season. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
At the very least, Wroten could replace the hole in my heart JR Smith left of being an absolute and pure baller when he was traded last season. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

The fourth year guard was released from the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday in order to make room for the re-acquired Ish Smith, making the 22-year-old a free agent if he clears waivers. As of this writing, nobody has claimed Wroten, leading many to believe that he’ll become available to the open market as soon as Friday. 

Wroten has struggled this season since returning from an ACL injury that kept him out for the Sixers’ first 22 games, shooting just 34 percent from the field in eight games. BUT, he hasn’t hesitated to get to the rim.

An astounding 41 of Wroten’s 65 FGA’s have come within five feet of the rim, with 44 percent of those shots falling. That isn’t a particularly great percentage from that distance; in fact, it’s pretty bad. But as Wroten continues to work back into game-shape, one could also assume that he’ll get some lift back in those legs and begin to finish at the rim better.

To compare Wroten’s eight game sample to the Knicks’ starting backcourt of Afflalo and Calderon, the two have taken just 48 and 16 shots from within five feet this season. The difference? Afflalo has played in 22 games while Calderon has played in all 30, meaning that Wroten has almost gotten to the rim more than both Knicks starting guards in less than half the time.

The man known as the “Junkyard Dog” is a genuinely talented scorer, putting up 17.0 PPG on last season’s depleted 76ers squad and could give the Knicks the attacking guard they seem to need. Of course he’d likely be coming off the bench and only be available for short spurts, but he could give New York an asset they don’t have with Derek Fisher seemingly losing faith in the rookie Jerian Grant.

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With Phil Jackson‘s squad at a tipping point where they could easily go back to the NBA’s cellar or prosper for the next decade, low risk and high reward moves are the Knicks’ best friend. If New York inks Wroten to a deal through the end of this season and it doesn’t work out, they can always cut ties and move on. But if it ends up working out, Wroten could be the offensive attacker the Knicks backcourt desperately needs.

All statistics courtesy of NBA.com/Stats and Basketball-Reference.com

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