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The New York Knicks drafted Frank Ntilikina with hopes that he would be their next franchise point guard. But as the season has gone along and moves made, it appears the Knicks would prefer he play more off the ball than be the one running the offense, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
The signs were there when they signed Trey Burke and traded for Emmanuel Mudiay. The ensuing games — including Friday night’s 128-105 defeat against the Clippers — have only reinforced that direction. Ntilikina’s minutes are up since the All-Star break but his assists are way down, a product of him playing off the ball while Burke and Mudiay act as the primary ballhandlers.
For Ntilikina, it doesn't matter to him whether he plays at the 1 or the 2 positions. He just wants to help the Knicks win in whatever way he can, per Bondy.
“I’m learning every day,” Ntilikina said recently. “I want to bring everything to the team. Either on the point-guard position or the 2 position. If coach wanted me to play the 5, I would have to eat, obviously.”
Ntilikina hasn't had the easiest of rookie seasons. He's only averaging 5.5 points per game this year and is shooting below 40 percent from the field. While his minutes have been up lately, it appears that is just the team's way of experimenting with him at a different position.
The good news is Ntilikina is still a young player, and he has a lot of time to grow and develop. The Knicks made moves that could solidify Ntilikina's role as playing more off the ball, and it looks like he has embraced that.
