Much of the New York Knicks' future will be decided by what transpires in the draft and free agency this summer. Regardless of how ultimately successful New York's potentially franchise-changing offseason is, though, coach David Fizdale needs those already on the roster to make major strides between now and next season.
Among that group is Frank Ntilikina, whose future with the Knicks could depend on his ability to play and guard multiple positions more than anything else, an attribute that makes Fizdale remain optimistic about the second-year guard despite a disappointing 2018-19 season.
“I don’t see a position,’” he said of Ntilikina on Friday, per Marc Berman of the New York Post. “That’s what I keep stressing with Frank. Frank does everything for me. That’s why he’s so important. He can play point guard, two-guard and 3. And he can guard multiple positions and we just don’t have a lot of those on this team.”
Dreams of Ntilikina developing into a ball-dominant playmaker have vanished entirely, which makes his progress as a three-point shooter all the more crucial to the trajectory of his career. Unfortunately, the former top-10 pick took a step back in that regard as a sophomore, shooting a dismal 28.7 percent from beyond the arc.
The good news: At least the Knicks how important a reliable jumper is to Ntilikina reaching his full potential.
“We’re going to really try to nail down his 3-point shooting obviously,’’ Fizdale said of summer plans for Ntilikina. “That’s going to be a big part of it and some of his mid-range game we’ll really work on as well.”
Ntilikina was officially shelved for the season's remainder on Friday, still bothered by a groin injury that he originally suffered on January 27th. He returned to the court last week, playing 25 minutes against the Denver Nuggets, but missed the second half of New York's following game due to the reoccurrence of pain his groin.
Ntilikina finished 2018-19 averaging 5.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in just over 20 minutes per game, with a true shooting percentage of 41.7 – second-worst in the league among players who notched at least 500 minutes, per basketball-reference.
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