Point Guard: Elfrid Payton
For the New York Knicks franchise, they have not been gifted with the most reliable point guards over the last number of years.
They had the opportunity to draft a point guard this year and finally put to bed their need for a franchise point guard but they deemed bringing hometown kid Obi Toppin too much to pass up.
If the Knicks aren’t good this coming season maybe they can land Jalen Suggs. A truly special talent, Suggs would give the Knicks a huge prospect to build the franchise around and the ideal point guard for Tom Thibadeau.
But for the here and now, the battle for the point guard spot is between three players.
Dennis Smith Jr, Frank Ntilikina and Elfrid Payton.
You would say for his defensive ability alone that Frank the Tank would be the obvious choice, but he isn’t a primary playmaker and with the above-named team so far, the Knicks will need a quarterback to run the offense.
Dennis Smith Jr is a shoot-first point guard so he is out. By process of elimination, the job falls to Elfrid Payton. He is going to be asked to do a lot this season in getting the offense running for the New York Knicks.
He has a bunch of players who eat in the paint. He needs to run an effective pick and roll with Mitchell Robinson. He needs to find spots for Obi Toppin to be successful. He is going to need to get the ball to RJ in transition so he can put the defense on the back foot. He will need to hit Burks consistently for open 3’s or even just use him as a decoy to get the rest of the team easier looks.
Payton isn’t going to have an easy time of it but he is experienced enough and solid enough of a playmaker and defender to do the job effectively.
If the Knicks fail to produce this season, his job will most definitely be under pressure.
This could be a make or break season for Elfrid. If he succeeds, he could be the Knicks’ starting point guard for the foreseeable future. If he fails, his days as a starting point guard in the league could be as good as over.