New York Knicks: 3 veteran free agents to keep an eye on in the bubble
By Chip Murphy
2. Marc Gasol
Don’t overreact. Signing Marc Gasol is meant to help Mitchell Robinson not take minutes away from New York’s star big man prospect. The two glaring weaknesses in Robinson’s game are his jump shot and his passing. Gasol excels in both areas.
Before Nikola Jokic stole his thunder, Gasol was considered the best passing big man in the league. Even at 35 years old, he’s still averaging 3.4 assists per game. Mitch could use some help with that. For context, Gasol has dished out more assists this season (124 in 990 minutes) than Mitch has in his entire career (73 in 2,770 minutes).
When Mitch catches the ball outside the paint, he looks like a deer in the headlights. Gasol is comfortable handling the ball anywhere on the court. I don’t know if Mitch is ever going be the passer Gasol is, but if he can become even the slightest threat outside the paint, it will change his game completely.
We see how vital Gasol’s defense is every time he goes up against Joel Embiid. The big man is tough to go up against in the post, but Gasol handles him as well as anybody. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Raptors allow 6.8 points per 100 possessions fewer with Gasol on the floor. Like Millsap, he’s first on the team in efficiency differential.
Gasol had only attempted 12 3-pointers through his first eight seasons before embracing the 3-point shot. He followed that up with 104 3-pointers at a shocking 38.8 percent clip.
At 32 years old, and already a two-time All-Star, Gasol chose to change his game dramatically. It resulted in a third All-Star selection. That kind of work ethic rubbing off on Mitch would be an excellent thing.
Gasol’s had a steep decline in his scoring – career-lows in points per game and field-goal percentage – and missed significant time due to injury this season. Still, his positive impact is felt all over the court for the defending champion Toronto Raptors.
It won’t be easy to pry Gasol away from Toronto. The Knicks will need to either overpay for Gasol or hope he has an interest in playing in New York.