Frank Ntilikina has struggled to find a clear role with the Knicks since they drafted him eighth overall in 2017, but under a new regime with head coach Tom Thibodeau, the point guard may have a place in New York’s long-term plans.
According to SNY’s Ian Begley, Ntilikina is held in high regard by Thibodeau, and the first-year head coach sees the 22-year-old as a productive part of what the team is trying to build moving forward.
“All along, Tom Thibodeau has been very positive about Ntilikina,” Begley said. “Even privately, Thibodeau sees Ntilkina as a talented player. He thinks maybe there’s something there, and Ntilikina, with the right people around him, could really reach his potential.”
Ntilikina has shown flashes of his potential, including in Thursday night’s win over the Magic, when he scored 13 points with three 3-pointers and played his typical lockdown defense to help the Knicks avoid a three-game losing streak. Ntilikina has always been a productive defender, but his offense has been slow to develop. He was one of the team’s most reliable 3-point shooters early on in the season, but Thursday night’s win was his first time in the scoring column in the past five games, even with some of that time spent as a starter with a number of point guards out with injury or illness.
Ntilikina is averaging just 5.9 points per game in his four-year career, while shooting 36.6 percent from the field. His 3-point numbers have improved dramatically this season, hitting at a 47.1 percent clip compared to 32.1 percent last year while averaging the same amount of attempts, and Thibodeau clearly believes his progress can be sustainable.
Whatever the Knicks decide to do with Ntilikina, they might have to do it quickly. The trade deadline is less than a week away, and with Ntilikina set to become a free agent at the end of the season, New York may elect to trade him if he isn’t part of the team’s future plans, and try to bring in whatever assets they can instead of losing Ntilikina for nothing this summer.
With Derrick Rose still on the COVID-19 protocol list, and Elfrid Payton nursing an injured hamstring, Ntilikina could continue to see heavy minutes for the Knicks in the near future, unless he’s traded before Thursday’s deadline.
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