Evaluating Kevin Knox’s tenure with the New York Knicks: 2021-22 – End of the road
Before Knox’s time ended with the Knicks, he was a virtual non-factor in the lineup. He played in 13 games with the team this season, averaging only 8.5 minutes per contest.
In his limited time, Knox averaged 3.6 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. The high point came on Dec. 12, when Knox scored 18 points in a 15-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, launching 12 three-point attempts during the game. It would be his only double-digit scoring output in his last season with the team.
His last game with the team came on Jan. 12. He played in just over a minute against the Dallas Mavericks, attempting one shot, a three-pointer – he missed it.
One day later, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, along with a 2022 first-round draft pick via the Charlotte Hornets. The Knicks received Cam Reddish, Solomon Hill, and a 2025 second-round pick via the Brooklyn Nets.
Knox’s fall from grace happened quickly in New York, but that’s the story of many lottery selections that fail to pan out. Teams rinse through them, then recycle them if they can’t find a long-term use.
The crazy thing is that Knox can still develop into a solid role player. Perhaps as Atlanta reconfigure its lineup, he’ll find more playing time than he did in New York. Knox is still just 22 years old and won’t turn 23 until the end of the season.
Still, it’s hard to look at his time with the Knicks other than as a disappointment. He entered the league with the expectations of a lottery pick and of other great one-and-dones at Kentucky, like Anthony Davis and John Wall, even if he clearly wasn’t at the same level.
But it never happened for him in New York. Knicks fans surely wish Kevin Knox luck in the future, even if his tenure with the franchise wasn’t a success.