New York Knicks: Ranking the newcomers

3. RJ Barrett

Selected by the New York Knicks with the third pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, RJ Barrett is the chosen one to follow in line of other great Knicks shooting guards, such as Earl Monroe, Allan Houston and John Starks.

RJ Barrett is without a doubt the player that Knicks fans are most excited about seeing grace the Madison Square Garden court. This feeling, luckily, appears to be mutual as Barrett seems to be extremely fired up about being a member of the New York Knicks.

During the first two preseason games, Barrett has appeared to be very comfortable with this NBA style of play. He has showcased his all-around play by scoring, rebounding and defending while also being one of the key ball-handlers.

Anybody who has watched Barrett play is already familiar with what he brings to the floor. He is a smooth left-hander with the ability to score from pretty much every position on the court. Barrett has been causing havoc to his opponents since his high school days and luckily for him, his playstyle could segue into the NBA from the start of the season.

With his official NBA debut less than a dozen days away, nobody can be sure as to what to expect from him during his rookie campaign. On the one hand, the team’s inability to lure in a superstar would mean more chances for the Maple Mamba. On the other hand, as mentioned before this is a very deep roster that could result in a total team effort and no specific player(s) standing out.

2. Marcus Morris

Even though Barrett’s skillset might as well already be much more advanced than the one of Marcus Morris, we have to give a slight edge to the eight-year veteran with the surplus in playoff experience.

Morris had a change of heart during the past offseason, ultimately ditching the San Antonio Spurs and declining their two-year contract, committing to orange and blue for at least the next season.

Last season, Morris had the best season of his career, which led to his pursuit by the New York Knicks. Additionally, it seems that the team views Morris as a vital influence on the young core, due to his strong and distinct personality.

The first couple of samples we got to experience from Morris were nothing but positive. During those first two preseason games, Marcus averaged 19.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game on a terrific 56 percent shooting from the field.

If Morris manages to maintain this elite level of play, then David Fizdale’s job would become even more difficult as he would have to choose between starting Morris or Kevin Knox.

1. Julius Randle

Undoubtedly the most talented player on this current New York Knicks roster, the acquisition of Julius Randle should certainly excite Knicks fans. But unfortunately, it’s not doing that.

The truth is, pretty much every Knicks fan expected a big splash in free agency. After trading away what was supposed to be their franchise player, Kristaps Porzingis, in exchange for a starting-caliber point guard and cap space, there were no excuses for coming home empty-handed.

It was reported that the Knicks held meetings with almost every top-tier free agent at the beginning of July. Nobody knows what kind of pitches they decided to show them, but at the end of the day the result was catastrophic, to say the least.

The frustration in every fan’s eyes grew once the team decided upon offering Julius Randle a three-year deal, though there is a silver lining that most Knicks fans seem to disregard: Randle is a quality player at a very young age. This is a low-risk/high-reward type of deal.

Last season, Randle averaged 21.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while being a very efficient shooter across the field.

Julius Randle proved his reliability by scoring 20 or more points in 45 out of the 73 games he played. The fact that he did all that while being the third scoring option in his team’s playbook should be more than enough to pump up any remaining sour-faced Knicks fans.