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The New York Knicks have gotten off to a quick start to yet another tanking season, quickly storming to a 1-6 mark through their first seven games. While fans and pundits have criticized the organization's decision to sign a slew of power forwards in the wake of striking out of star talent, NBA scouts have done much of the same, citing their porous roster construction as one of the reasons they've gotten off to another terrible start:
“They have too many players who play the same role – Portis, Randle, even Morris,” one scout said Sunday night, echoing a refrain made by other evaluators and media members, according to SNY's Ian Begley.
The Knicks were quick to sign Julius Randle to a three-year deal, then followed that signing with that of Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, and later on snatching Marcus Morris from the hands of the San Antonio Spurs after a verbal agreement between the two parties.
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The power forward depth chart was incredibly hefty, leaving New York with too many players at that primary position and giving Knicks head coach David Fizdale a headache in the process:
“They're asking Fizdale to bake a cake, but they forgot to give him the eggs,” said another scout last week in reference to the Knicks' roster.
While Fizdale and the front office have tried to obscure this fact with thoughts of the players' versatility to play other positions, those changes have led to no good, as the Knicks' inside defense has struggled, leaving them with very few answers beyond center Mitchell Robinson.
Morris, who was one of the Knicks' last signings, has been the most gratifying surprise out of the aforementioned signings, recently dropping 29- and 28-point scoring games, albeit in losing efforts.
