New York Knicks: Analyzing free agent point guard D.J. Augustin

The New York Knicks need to add a point guard during the offseason. Free agent D.J. Augustin would bring stability and veteran leadership.

The New York Knicks are desperate for point guard help in a year when the free agency class happens to be lacking in talent at the position. Going after a reliable veteran like D.J. Augustin is typically a wise move for a rebuilding team.

But the Knicks have recycled veteran point guards before without factoring in that whole being good at basketball thing. Who can forget about Jarrett Jack doing his best Carlton Banks impression or 13 horrifying games from Ramon Sessions? That 2017-18 season was fun.

Augustin would add a nice blend of veteran leadership, consistency, and shooting that the Knicks have been missing at point guard. He provided all of that in the Orlando Magic’s run back to the playoffs for the first time since the Dwight Howard era. Like many backup point guards, Augustin has made a career of being an NBA tourist. His next team will be his ninth in 14 seasons.

Markelle Fultz was a national media punch lunch line when he got to Orlando. The Magic’s point guard of the future says he learned a lot from Augustin. Fultz told Josh Cohen of OrlandoMagic.com that Augustin was “great for this team in the locker room” and taught him “how to be a professional and take care of his body.”

The 32-year-old even speaks like the kind of veteran the New York Knicks should want mentoring Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr.

Augustin told The Ringer’s Dan Devine:

"“I’ve been benched. I’ve been cut. I’ve been released. I’ve been traded. I’ve started. I came off the bench. Nothing’s guaranteed in this league, man. You can’t take anything for granted.”"

The Magic dished out four years and $29 million to Augustin in that bonkers summer of 2016. It was peanuts in comparison to some of the other contracts that were thrown around, but it still seemed excessive for a career backup point guard.

The deal ended up being a win for the Magic. Unlike many of his 2016 contemporaries, Augustin consistently produced with his team through the entirety of the deal. He was a steal in comparison to Bismack Biyombo or Timofey Mozgov. You’d end up looking really smart if you could go back in time to 2016 and claim that four years from now, Augustin will be in a rotation, but Joakim Noah will be riding a bench.

After the New York Knicks hired Tom Thibodeau, Augustin told reporters that he loved playing for Thibs with the Chicago Bulls back in 2013-14. That makes sense because Augustin had the best scoring run of his career in his brief run with the Bulls. In 61 games, Augustin posted averages of 30.4 minutes, 14.9 points, and 5.0 assists on a .419/.411/.882 slash line.

But Thibs would be asking for Augustin to enter a completely different situation this time around. The New York Knicks are rebuilding, and Augustin is coming off a down year. He missed some time due to a knee injury, and his play reflected it.

However, injuries haven’t been an issue for Augustin throughout his career. This coronavirus affected season was only the third time in his 12 year career that he didn’t play in 70 games. One of the other times Augustin didn’t reach 70 was the lockout-shortened 66 game season of 2011-12.

The Knicks would hope to get a version of Augustin from the previous two seasons — the most efficient of his career. Augustin shot over 40 percent from 3-point range in 2018-19 and 2017-18. Only two Knicks in the last 20 years shot better than 40 percent from downtown in consecutive seasons: Courtney Lee (’16-’17, ’17-’18) and Steve Novak (’11-’12, ’12-’13).

As good as 2017-18 was, the 2018-19 season was the best of Augustin’s career. He started and played in 81 games and averaged 11.7 points and a team-leading 5.3 assists on an extremely efficient .470/.421/.866 slash line.

Allow me to nerd out for a second so you can fully understand how impressive a shooting season Augustin had in 2018-19. He finished 12th in the NBA in 3-point percentage and 21st in true shooting percentage.

The only guards to finish with a higher TS were Joe Harris, Stephen Curry, and Danny Green. Augustin shot 44.5 percent on catch and shoot 3-pointers. That ranked 12th out of the 223 players who attempted 100 catch and shoot threes, per NBA Stats.

Augustin also shot 52 percent on corner threes — putting him in the 94th percentile for point guards. He made 60.0 percent of his shots at the rim for the first time in his career — granted, he doesn’t take a lot there. Augustin’s career average distance of FGA is 15.6 feet, per BBall-Ref.

Even though Augustin’s numbers dipped overall this season, he still shot better than 40 percent on catch and shoot 3-pointers. It was the third straight season he reached that benchmark.

But despite all that hot shooting, Orlando still jumped at the chance to trade for Fultz. That’s one of the few downsides to bringing in Augustin. If New York were to sign him, he’d be another stopgap before the Knicks found a younger prospect to take over.

But Augustin gives the Knicks more than Elfrid Payton did. Payton is inept outside the paint, which makes him virtually unplayable in lineups with a non-shooter like Ntilikina. Conversely, Augustin excelled next to Michael Carter Williams — a similar player to Ntilikina — this season. The Magic outscored opponents by 13.4 points per 100 possessions with that duo in the backcourt, via CTG.

Unfortunately, there are some pretty alarming stats to pay attention to. Augustin is 5’11” with a 6’3.5″ wingspan so naturally, he struggles on defense. It shows up in the metrics. Augustin’s had a negative defensive box plus-minus in seven consecutive seasons.

If you have Augustin on the court, he’s going to have the ball in his hands a lot, and for a long time. You can make an argument that statistically, Augustin is the biggest ball hog in the league.

Augustin led the league in each of the past two seasons in dribbles and seconds per touch, per NBA Stats. It’s incredible how a guy who averages 7.8 career field goal attempts per game can dominate the ball that much.

You can argue that Augustin’s decision to play the game at his own pace leads to fewer mistakes. His career turnover per game average is 1.5. But it’s limited him to just 4.0 assists per game for his career.

Augustin is the definition of the NBA cliche “solid veteran backup.” He’s not the cool choice in free agency, but if you’re the Knicks, you can look at the positive influence Augustin had on the Orlando Magic and hope there’s a similar influence with your squad.