A few notes on Kemba Walker and the decision to shut him down for the rest of the season:
Derrick Rose and RJ Barrett are close to returning from injuries. So, Walker’s exit may not lead directly to a rotation change. When asked on Wednesday if Rose could start at point guard when he returns, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said, “We’ll see. I think just looking, digging into the numbers and stuff, Alec (Burks) has been our best option so far.”
Fans who want to see the Knicks give their young players more minutes won’t like this answer, but the numbers support Thibodeau’s point.
The lineup of Burks, Evan Fournier, Barrett, Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson has outscored opponents by 27 points over 201 minutes, per NBA.com. So, Burks has been the Knicks’ best option at lead guard based on net rating. The club is also 8-8 in games when Burks starts at point guard, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
Based on what he said on Wednesday, it doesn’t sound like Thibodeau or the Knicks are pivoting to playing younger players more minutes to open the second half. Maybe that pivot comes if the Knicks fall far from the play-in tournament, but it’s not happening at the moment.
So, the questions about Cam Reddish’s minutes remain even after Walker removed himself from the rotation.
Obviously, this isn’t the outcome that the Knicks or Walker wanted when Walker agreed to a buyout with the Thunder to join New York in the offseason, but the decision was made by Walker shortly before the team reconvened for practice on Wednesday evening.
Observers said Walker looked uncomfortable between games in the weeks leading up to the All-Star break. So, what you saw from Walker on the court this season was a product of him often playing through pain and giving it all he had.
It’s worth noting that the Knicks didn’t aggressively pursue trades involving Walker ahead of the deadline. One way to interpret this? New York decided Walker would have more trade value in the offseason, when he will be on an expiring contract.
It’s also worth noting that Walker was held in high regard by many players in the Knick locker room. Some of the young players in particular gravitated toward Walker, known league-wide as an exceptional teammate.
His benching in December was questioned by some players. Those players felt that it revealed an inconsistency in decision-making because not all players were being held to the same standard. They also didn’t think Thibodeau communicated well with Walker during that stretch.
So, Walker will certainly be missed by most in the Knick locker room. (In the aftermath of Wednesday’s decision, it seemed unlikely on Wednesday that he would be around the team on a day-to-day basis and according to Thibodeau, Walker was not at practice on Wednesday.)
Still, how Walker’s absence impacts the Knicks on the court remains to be seen. He was the starter in the lineup the Knicks used most often this season (Walker, Fournier, Barrett, Randle, Robinson). That lineup was outscored by 121 points in 428 minutes.
But to solely blame Walker for New York’s struggles this season would be misleading. He’s one part of a puzzle that hasn’t fit well at all so far. Regardless of who is in or out of the Knicks lineup right now, the bottom line is simple: just win games.
New York enters the final six weeks of the season in 12th place and 3.5 games out of the final spot for the play-in tournament in the Eastern Conference. If the Knicks finish the season in 12th place after playing veterans and chasing wins, there will be heightened scrutiny on the entire organization in the 2022 offseason.
