New York Knicks Hall of Famer and broadcaster Walt Frazier spoke at length about his thoughts on a wild free agent summer, including the many additions to the roster and what head coach David Fizdale should do moving forward.
“I think (Marcus) Morris is a very good player. (Julius) Randle probably is going to be the biggest guy that we're expecting the most out of,” said Frazier, according to Ian Begley of SNY. “I like (Elfrid) Payton, man, in the backcourt. He's like a quadruple threat. He can dish and swish, he rebounds, he steals the ball. So I think he's going to be a valuable asset. (Bobby) Portis, also a very physical guy. I see him playing a little more center behind (Mitchell) Robinson, who is still foul prone. He has to prove that he can play without creating fouls. But his metamorphosis has been quite amazing, what he's been able to accomplish lately. So there's a lot of optimism with this team.”
The Knicks added four natural power forwards in Randle, Portis, Taj Gibson, and Morris — some of which will have to play out of their preferred position to carve some playing time under Fizdale's rotation.
Article Continues BelowAs for Fizdale, Frazier is hoping he can show the defensive specialist part that intrigued the Knicks last summer when he was hired, after a putrid stint under Jeff Hornacek where their liabilities were obvious.
“He came in as a defensive guru. So last year, obviously we didn't see that. So I think now with this team, that's what he has to do. Make these guys play defense,” said Frazier. “When they get tired, just substitute them. Because one guy is not that much better than the other guy. The talent is very equal, so I think Fiz is salivating right now with the squad that he has and the defensive prowess, the young players… that are on the threshold. Obviously, they didn't have this last year. They didn't have this much flexibility, versatility. So I'm interested to see how he's going to deal with it.”
The Knicks might not have an All-Star blessed roster as they were once hopeful to get in free agency, but they do have starting-quality cogs in place and some level of flexibility going into next offseason to make changes as they see fit. As Frazier pointed out, the Knicks should be able to show more potential after these signings, with all the pressure now shifting to Fizdale to man this ship.