New York Knicks: What Kemba Walker can add to the rising Knicks

Exploring what the New York Knicks can expect after the acquisition of Kemba Walker. 

New Yorkers rejoice! Finally, after years of subpar point guards running the offense for the New York Knicks, they landed Bronx native and four-time all-star Kemba Walker. At age 31, Walker will be the biggest, brightest, and most talented point guard to start for the team since Stephon Marbury in 2008.

What about Derrick Rose? While still a very good player, Rose has never been the same MVP caliber player since multiple surgeries derailed his career many years ago. Enter Walker who comes with a pedigree of playing at an elite level when healthy.

Arguably a top 10 point guard for many years, he is now entering the twilight of his career. He too has had a string of recent injuries that have slowed him down but many people in the Knicks organization, and around the league, still think he has a lot left in the tank.

The hometown kid plays with a New York passion and his game relies heavily on his quick first step and ability to pull up from inside the arc. He finishes extremely well at the rim and posts career averages of 19 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game while shooting a respectable 36 percent from 3.

What the Knicks added was a modern-day scoring point guard who has a penchant for coming up big in clutch moments. One of the biggest moments of his career was when he hit a game-winning buzzer-beater at the garden during the NCAA tournament against Pitt 10 years ago.

To this point, he has had a stellar career and the Knicks now have the option to start him at the point guard position with Derrick Rose as his backup. What team can boast that they have two point guards who have been all-stars and were once MVP candidates?

While he may very well be on the decline, Walker without a doubt is an instant upgrade over Elfrid Payton, whom the latter completely fizzled out in the playoff and was benched for the final three games.

Is Walker a top 10 point guard now? No, he’s not. And last year he had his fair share of injuries that slowed him down. But he is healthy now, and when healthy he is still a top 15 point guard in the NBA. He adds another dynamic scorer who can get off his own shot, something they lacked and was a glaring weakness for the Knicks this past season.

Knicks fans all over rejoice! The addition of Evan Fournier and bringing back Rose, Nerlens Noel, and Alec Burks will no doubt keep this team competitive. If NBA Coach of the Year winner Tom Thibodeau can put it all together they should be able to put together a fun, competitive, winning team every night.