With an influx of free agent talent joining the young Knicks' roster, Kevin Knox knows that his playing time will be hard-fought.
"We're going to have to earn our minutes and fight for playing time on the court," Knox said to Marc Berman of the New York Post. "Training camp is going to be brutal. I know I got to earn my minutes this year because we brought in a lot of great guys."
The Knicks are in line to sign Marcus Morris, whose primary position is small forward. That's Knox's best spot, too. Despite the imminent playing time crunch, though, Knox is already taking a positive approach.
"The guys they brought in, I think they're going to help me a lot this season," he commented. "All those guys compete very hard. It's going to push me to play on both sides of the court."
Knox's case for increased minutes this season was boosted by his play through the teams four Summer League games. Averaging a team-best 30.3 minutes along with RJ Barrett, Knox averaged 17.3 PPG on a 41 field goal percentage to go along with six rebounds per game.
He arrived in Las Vegas looking stronger, and it translated into games. The 19-year-old looked much more aggressive and confident when driving to the rim.
"I felt different. I probably didn't put up the numbers I did last year or have all the highlights," Knox admitted. "But I was feeling more comfortable, confident, dribbling the basketball, shooting the ball. I feel a lot stronger out there."
This summer, Knox was much shaper in the passing game and displayed an improved vision. His on-court chemistry with Barrett began to take shape, too.
"I feel I had a really good summer and feel better going into the season this year.''