2. Veterans will ease rookies and sophomores into big roles
NBA teams draft college and international prospects every year with hopes of them becoming the next superstar of the league. The pressure is on from day one, despite the immense learning curve in the NBA.
R.J. Barrett, the New York Knicks’ first top-three selection since Patrick Ewing, is no stranger to this pressure. He is expected to be the face of the Knicks franchise going forward.
That said, a 19-year-old rookie, along with the rest of the young core, will need veteran leadership in order to maximize their potential.
In recent years, we’ve seen Kevin Garnett return to the Minnesota Timberwolves to mentor Karl-Anthony Towns. The 2003-04 MVP played 38 games during Towns’ rookie season but still played a pivotal role in Towns’ quick development.
The Knicks young core won’t have a player of Garnett’s nature mentoring them, but the Knicks front office did a serviceable job at surrounding them with seasoned players such as Reggie Bullock, Wayne Ellington, Taj Gibson and Marcus Morris.
The four veterans will not only teach the youth how to be professional athletes on and off the court, but also alleviate the on-court pressure by playing alongside them.
Coach David Fizdale will get the opportunity to experiment with different lineups throughout the season featuring a mixture of rookies, sophomores and veterans.
The veteran leadership will serve a long-term purpose as the Knicks hope their young players will use the mentoring and lessons learned to grow into star talents.