Langston Galloway: Knicks Learning From Past
The New York Knicks season is a nightmare devoid of positivity. The team’s star player, Carmelo Anthony, is out for the year while the team’s former star, Amar’e Stoudemire, is a Dallas Maverick. Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith are gone.
The team is in cellar of the Eastern Conference and buying its time for the final weeks of the season until the draft lottery and Knicks can be excited for a top flight young talent. However, the one substantial bright spot this season is undoubtedly Langston Galloway. Knicks fans can take solace in the fact that Galloway is a rare example of the Knicks learning from past mistakes.
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Following his D-League recall in January, Galloway stormed on to the scene with his emphatic dunks, clutch 3-point shooting, and impressive perimeter defense. Galloway is averaging 11.1 points per game, which ranks third among all rookies behind Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker, who is out for the season.
This feat is partially the result of Galloway ranking third among rookies in minutes per game (30.4), and having the freedom to take many shots on the depleted Knicks roster (10.4 field-goal attempts per game). Despite these stipulations regarding Galloway’s stats, his rookie season has been impressive for an undrafted player who has only played in 25 games (36th among all rookies).
Galloway’s rookie mark for points per game has only been matched by one other Knicks rookie, Channing Frye in 2005, throughout the past 25 years. This puts the Knicks at the bottom of the NBA for rookie scoring because only the Pacers and Jazz have had fewer rookies match that scoring mark during the same period.
Perhaps, Knicks fans are easily impressed with rookie production but few can question the team’s decision to sign Galloway for the remainder of this season and 2015-16.
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Galloway signed a two-year, $1,080,821 contract, including $235,762 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $540,411. This contract is a great team-friendly deal that benefits both sides. Despite a season long effort to maximize cap room to ensure a successful offseason, Phil Jackson and the Knicks were wise enough to hold on to a homegrown player who basically fell in their laps.
This is a great sign for the future considering pre-Jackson management failed to keep young upstarts on several occasions.
Jeremy Lin and Linsanity is a well documented Knicks memory that was ended when Houston offered a contract that was out of the Knicks’ price range given limited cap flexibility. Less memorable are the late season heroics of Chris Copeland in 2013, who won Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in April and finishing tied for sixth in the Rookie of the Year voting.
Following the season, Copeland received a two-year, $6.1 million offer sheet from Indiana that the team was once again unable to match due to salary constraints. Admittedly, other variables and conditions applied to the situations regarding Lin and Copeland and how they compare to Galloway.
Nonetheless it is a sign of relief that the team was able to keep a diamond in the rough player who exceeded expectations.
With the trade of Iman Shumpert the Knicks have not signed a first-round draft pick to a new deal since Charlie Ward, who was drafted in 1994! Hopefully, Galloway can help stomach this fact and continue to improve as the Knicks look to the future.
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