1. Fantasy Review For 2018/19 Season:

Knicks were a mess both on the court and in the fantasy basketball. Despite having plenty of young players to develop they wer deciding to play veterans at their cost. They lacked winning talent, locker room chemistry and a plan. David Fizdale became a public enemy number 1 for fantasy managers with his sick rotation and weird choices. It was a season to forget.

Changes in the offseason

Lost = Mario Hezonja, Emmanuel Mudiay, Luke Kornet, Noah Vonleh
Added = Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, Wayne Ellington, Elfrid Payton, Reggie Bullock, Marcus Morris, RJ Barrett,

It looks that they sacrificed Kristaps Porzingis to open cap space, that enabled them to sign Bobby Portis and Marcus Morris. Also they played Emmanuel Mudiay and Noah Vonleh at all cost, only to let them go in the summer. Well done.

Projected Depth Chart:

PG SG SF PF C
Dennis Smith Jr RJ Barrett Kevin Knox Julius Randle Mitchell Robinson
Elfrid Payton Allonzo Trier Wayne Ellington Marcus Morris Bobby Portis
Frank Ntilikina Damyean Dotson Reggie Bullock Ignas Brazdeikis Taj Gibson

Positional Battles: Everywhere

Literally everywhere. They have 8 young players worth playing in NBA, but during a summer they also acquired huge group of mileaged veterans, that will demand playing time. In the result few of these young guns might ger buried in the rotation (Ntilikina, Trier, Dotson, Brazdeikis) and other may play much less then they should (DSJ and Knox, maybe even RJ and Robinson). In the result they have only two fantasy relevant players this year in standard leaugues. Beware of the others.

Fantasy Relevant in standard leagues:

Mitchell Robinson

His upside is a top10 player in the mold of prime Hassan Whiteside. Any given night he can block 7 shots, and as he projects as top5 big man stats contributor, behind only Gobert, Davis and KAT, he could easily outplay his current rank of 24. On the other side – Knicks have 5 or 6 center eligible players, that will challenge Robinson for minutes, and under coach Fizdale, even the best young talent doesn’t get any edge over veterans.

Julius Randle

53,6 FG%, 71 FT%, 1,2 3PM, 20,2 PTS, 8,6 REB, 3,9 AST, 0,6 STL, 0,4 BL, 3 TO

A walking field goal percentage boost with little bit of playmaking and rebounding. He is basically a four category guy, with a very good combination of points, assists, rebounds and FG%, but with no defensive stats, below average threes, and weak FT% and TOs. His draft range or price could be wide depending on user tactics. For example for punt FT/TO builds he is easily top50 player. Also – he is probably the only player of the Fizdale’s rotation with safe minutes and role.

Dennis Smith Jr

A very inefficient point guard with below average defensive stats, capable of putting up nice lines based of cumulative stats. If he raises his efficiency to the acceptable levels, he might be a candidate for a break out year. Unfortunately both Frank Ntilikina and Elfrid Payton could provide significant hits in his minutes here and there. Worth a last round flier, especially if you are searching for assists.

Kevin Knox

A very inefficient forward with below average defensive stats, capable of putting up nice lines based of cumulative stats. If he raises his efficiency to the acceptable levels, he might be a candidate for a break out year. Unfortunately competing for minutes against RJ Barrett, Marcus Morris, Julius Randle and Bobby Portis makes a very difficult logjam for sophomore. Worth a last round flier, especially if you have punt-percentage build of h2h team.

RJ Barrett

A very inefficient forward with below average defensive stats, capable of putting up nice lines based of cumulative stats. If he raises his efficiency to the acceptable levels, he might be a candidate for a break out year. Unfortunately competing for minutes against Kevin Knox, Marcus Morris, Julius Randle and Bobby Portis makes a very difficult logjam for sophomore. Worth a last round flier, especially if you have punt-percentage build of h2h team.

 

Knicks apparently love inefficient young players with below average defensive stats.

 

Could be useful with trades/injuries:
Elfrid Payton,  Allonzo Trier, Damyean Dotson, Bobby Portis, Marcus Morris

Just don’t bother with:
Wayne Ellington, Reggie Bullock, Ignaz Brazdeikis, Kadeem Allen, Taj Gibson

Don’t forget to check the rest of the New York Knicks fantasy basketball projections..

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