New York Knicks: Can Justin Holiday Provide Value?

After garnering interest in last year’s free agency, Justin Holiday struggled with Chicago and Atlanta. Can the New York Knicks — his fourth team in three years — be the charm?

In the Derrick Rose trade, the expectation of the trade is that Rose is going to be the key member of the trade.

After dealing with Jose Calderon and Jerian Grant at the point guard position, the New York Knicks are expecting Rose to provide them a bit more production on the offensive end, taking some of the pressure off of Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis.

However, there were two other smaller elements to that trade. The first was the 2017 second-round pick. It gives the Knicks another shot in the dark in the draft.

As the Golden State Warriors showed, having that ability to get the right second-round picks allows you to have more flexibility in free agency and with other positions on the roster. To have a pick from a team like Chicago helps on the margins.

More from New York Knicks

The other player?

Justin Holiday

The biggest need on the Knicks roster is help at the wing position, specifically the shooting guard and small forward positions. Anthony plays small forward, but he’s more of a power forward and should close out games at that 4 position.

If that is indeed the case, the Knicks will need more swingmen who can defend on the perimeter and switch among the one through three positions.

Holiday has the ability to help with that endeavor. Holiday is 6-foot-5, but his wingspan is measured at 7-feet.

That length allows him to be assertive against guards of the same size and even some bigger perimeter players, and it also allows him to at least contest various shooters and pester point guards on the perimeter.

The only issue that Holiday is that he doesn’t seem like a great defender; closer to average. His defensive field goal percentage was right on the median, 44 percent on an average of 44 percent.

Spending last season with Chicago and Atlanta, Holiday never really found his footing, failing to crack Atlanta’s rotation and struggled to make plays on either team.

With one year left on his contract, the Knicks can at least try one more time to see if he can be a potential rotation player.

The biggest thing for Holiday is the lack of efficiency on the offensive end. In three seasons, Holiday has failed to register a true shooting percentage better than 50 percent. Outside of his 34 percent shooting last season, there hasn’t been much to like about Holiday on the offensive end.

Holiday showed a hint of shooting on catch-and-shoot attempts last season, though, hitting 36 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes.

That could be decent for the Knicks off the bench. The shooting and defensive value alongside guys like Langston Galloway and Lance Thomas — two fine defenders in their own right — could allow the Knicks to improve on their poor defense.

The issue with all three is can they score efficient enough to not submarine the roster in stretches where Anthony, Rose, and Porzingis will need rest.

More from Hoops Habit

I don’t expect coach

Jeff Hornacek

to play all three in a lineup, but you never know.

Holiday doesn’t change the need much. The Knicks should — and probably will — target guys who can defend on the perimeter.

The Knicks already expressed interest in former Hawks guard/forward Kent Bazemore, but even guys like E’Twan Moore, Allen Crabbe or Evan Fournier who can provide value on the perimeter could help the Knicks right away.

Getting Bazemore at, say, $16 million per year would be a nice get.

However, I’m curious to see what the Knicks do with Holiday. He has some defensive value and showed last season that he can hit a three every once in awhile.

More hoops habit: 25 Greatest Shooters In NBA History

If he can figure out how to be effective on offense without the ball and still maintain his value as a defender, he can serve as a solid rotation player at the bottom of the roster, maybe a 10th man.

Home/New York Knicks

What Can Justin Holiday Bring To The New York Knicks?

By Quentin Haynes | Jun 30, 2016

After garnering interest in last year’s free agency, Justin Holiday struggled with Chicago and Atlanta. Can the New York Knicks — his fourth team in three years — be the charm?

More from Hoops Habit