Allonzo Trier impressed in nearly every category in his first year as a Knick, and the organization saw enough through his first season to pick up his $3.5 million option for year two. But like any rookie, his first season highlighted areas calling for improvement.
His shooting became the primary area of refinement, but it wasn't the mechanics. Instead, it was the volume.
"The more I get off and I shoot at a high percentage, then it'll be good for us," Trier told Mike Vorkunov of the Athletic. "Not only myself, but as a basketball team. So that's one thing I've been focused on doing."
Trier's coaches told him they wanted him to shoot more three-pointers off the catch, to shoot any time he gets the ball. The Arizona product shot 39.4 percent from beyond the arc and 44.8 percent from the field last year, showcasing his reputation as a sharpshooter. Already a terrific isolation scorer, an uptick in shot volume would aid Trier in becoming a more well-rounded shooter -- one who could be efficient off the catch and off screens.
"They (Knicks coaches) said you have such a beautiful stroke and shoot such a high percentage that you have to get more off," Trier said.
As Vorkunov points out, Trier ranked 23rd among his rookie class in three-point rate and fifth-lowest among all NBA players that shot at least two three-pointers per game and hit at least 37 percent of them. On a per game basis, Trier averaged just 2.1 three-point attempts and 8.1 shots from the floor. Year two will bring growing pains in addition to more comfort.
"I've been able to see the floor better," Trier said. "The game is slowing down for me, being able to make reads, shooting the ball, playing off the ball, catch and shooting off the ball, just different things like that."
There's reason to believe that Trier can develop into one of the league's better scoring options off the bench. If anything, he's already proven to be another solid and seemingly quiet pickup for GM Scott Perry & Co. Still, after making nearly half his shots and making a name for himself after going undrafted, he's not satisfied.
"Obviously you still gotta continue to work on the things you're good at and try to become elite at them. I think I've done a good job of working on those things, and I'm going to continue to the rest of this offseason."