This concept of the "Second-Tier Shot Creator” is fantastic, and something I've thought about as a Knicks fan whose FO is presumably looking to pursue a "second star" to pair with Jalen Brunson. In the past 3 seasons the Knicks greatest weakness has been their awful half court offense, which stems from the lack of quality shot creators on the team (it is not surprising that the 3 main players who took on this role made your list in Barrett, Burks, and Randle). Even in this most recent season where the Knicks somehow finished with the 3rd best offense rating in the league, this was more a reflection of a roster that immaculately synergized elite offense rebounding and played each game with the mindset of “if we chuck enough shots at the hoop something is gonna go in.” Or… “your team might get 70 decent shots, but we’re going to take 100 bad ones”
Either way, while this reverse glass-cannon style offense is a fun footnote in a league that spends most of its time copying each other’s strategies, I think the Knicks FO will be looking to add a bit more of a traditional scoring threat for this coming season. Which leads back into the point of your article - many Knicks fans are very leery of sending our younger assets away for a player that turns out to be one of these “Second-Tier Shot Creators,” particularly guys in your list like Brandon Ingram and Pascal Siakam who’ve been circling in trade conversations and with their 24ppg all-star pedigree may seem like a satisfying move for the FO.
Shelling out max or near max deals to these types of players seems to be the biggest roster-constructing landmine in the NBA - throwing money at a Tobias Harris or Bradley Beal can actively cripple championship aspirations or even simply a shot at 2nd round legitimacy. I wonder if instead, with FOs catching on we will see more teams “camping out” like the 2019 Raptors, 2022 76ers, or this past years Suns, choosing to bypass the dangerous land of unproven high usage players in the off-season for disgruntled Hall of Famers at the trade deadline.
Appreciate the feedback. Yeah, he seems unlikely to be available, but I'd much rather have Mikal Bridges on this roster than Siakam or Ingram. Shooting + versatile defense would be a much more seamless fit and would give the team an intriguing rotation of high-level wing minutes (with Hart and Grimes as well) to form connective tissue between Brunson and Randle.
This concept of the "Second-Tier Shot Creator” is fantastic, and something I've thought about as a Knicks fan whose FO is presumably looking to pursue a "second star" to pair with Jalen Brunson. In the past 3 seasons the Knicks greatest weakness has been their awful half court offense, which stems from the lack of quality shot creators on the team (it is not surprising that the 3 main players who took on this role made your list in Barrett, Burks, and Randle). Even in this most recent season where the Knicks somehow finished with the 3rd best offense rating in the league, this was more a reflection of a roster that immaculately synergized elite offense rebounding and played each game with the mindset of “if we chuck enough shots at the hoop something is gonna go in.” Or… “your team might get 70 decent shots, but we’re going to take 100 bad ones”
Either way, while this reverse glass-cannon style offense is a fun footnote in a league that spends most of its time copying each other’s strategies, I think the Knicks FO will be looking to add a bit more of a traditional scoring threat for this coming season. Which leads back into the point of your article - many Knicks fans are very leery of sending our younger assets away for a player that turns out to be one of these “Second-Tier Shot Creators,” particularly guys in your list like Brandon Ingram and Pascal Siakam who’ve been circling in trade conversations and with their 24ppg all-star pedigree may seem like a satisfying move for the FO.
Shelling out max or near max deals to these types of players seems to be the biggest roster-constructing landmine in the NBA - throwing money at a Tobias Harris or Bradley Beal can actively cripple championship aspirations or even simply a shot at 2nd round legitimacy. I wonder if instead, with FOs catching on we will see more teams “camping out” like the 2019 Raptors, 2022 76ers, or this past years Suns, choosing to bypass the dangerous land of unproven high usage players in the off-season for disgruntled Hall of Famers at the trade deadline.
Appreciate the feedback. Yeah, he seems unlikely to be available, but I'd much rather have Mikal Bridges on this roster than Siakam or Ingram. Shooting + versatile defense would be a much more seamless fit and would give the team an intriguing rotation of high-level wing minutes (with Hart and Grimes as well) to form connective tissue between Brunson and Randle.