New York Knicks: Doug McDermott could be a steal

The New York Knicks during Carmelo Anthony for Doug McDermott (and other assets) could go down as one of the most underrated moves of the offseason

The New York Knicks have been marginalized in the Phil Jackson era, because right when they were ready to be competitive with their guys, they ship off Robin Lopez and Jerian Grant for a grab-all at Derrick Rose.

That trade didn’t work because Phil didn’t build his offense around Rose and he never synced with Carmelo Anthony as both have heavy on-ball games. Now, with both Jackson and Melo out of their hair, the Knicks have the most underrated scoring weapon since Jimmer Fredette.

And it’s not Enes Kanter.

Welcome to the New York Knicks, future NBA all-star scoring machine, Doug McDermott.

Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek can actually run a variation of his old Utah Jazz offense with Doug McDermott as Larry Bird-type power forward tweener of Karl Malone, paired with Kristaps Porzingis in a twin post offense that will be unusual as it will be deadly.

If rookie point guard Frank Ntikilina can manage an offense around those two scoring socks, the Knicks might surprise everyone with how easily they can put up points on the board. Joakim Noah, if he can remain healthy enough to see the floor, is the perfect fit point forward defensive big feeding McDermott on offense while helping support Dougie when the Knicks play defense.

As good as Enes Kanter is, he’s too slow for a Knicks offense that should fly in the manner that Hornacek almost nailed Coach of the Year during his stint with Phoenix Suns in 2013-14.

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Doug can play as the Guided Missile McDermott alongside Battleship Porzingis in a high octane, scoring game with Noah facilitating both players off a point center offense. Ntilikina attacking the paint or shooting from long range with a choice of Lance Thomas or Courtney Lee for a small quick backcourt, or Mindaugas Kusminskas or Ron Baker for a spunkier, difficult match-up 5-on-5 Knickerbocker squad.

McDermott’s career stats belie how good of a player that he can actually be. His 8.0 points and 2.3 rebounds, shooting 39.4 percent from 3-point range is skewed because Tom Thibodeau benched him his rookie year, and Jimmy Butler ate all of the Bulls’ scoring touches, before finally being kicked out to Minnesota.

The only thing that can set back McDermott from a breakout scoring season for the Knicks is himself. If Hornacek utilizes McDermott the way he was underutilized in Chicago, he will be well on his way for a career year.

The 2017-18 Knicks could be what the 2015-16 Bulls should’ve been – an offense built around their most lethal scoring threats, and not around stat-sheet stuffing names.

Kristaps Porzingis prayers were answered. So were the rest of the Knicks fandom. Again, it’s not Enes Kanter. It’s Doug McDermott.

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