Do you remember Maurice N’Dour?
Undrafted out of Ohio University, N’Dour battled through the NBA Summer League and a season overseas before landing with the Knicks in 2016-17.
Normally, fans root passionately for players like N’Dour who persevere to reach their NBA dreams.
But passionate Knick fans may remember N’Dour for different reasons. N’Dour knocked down a 15-foot jumper with 18 seconds to go in New York’s final home game of the 2016-17. It gave the Knicks a win against the Sixers and N’Dour celebrated with his teammates on the floor.
It also drew ire from Knicks fans who had an eye toward the 2017 NBA Draft. The win gave the Knicks a 4-9 record to close the season. They had the sixth-worst record in the league. If they hadn’t finished 4-9 – and if N’Dour hadn’t hit the shot against Philly – maybe they’d end up with a better draft pick. That’s why some Knicks fans weren’t thrilled with N’Dour.
Outside of 2020-21, New York seems to be in the same territory at the end of every season lately. If they win games, it benefits the players and coaches. But it hurts the team in the lottery standings.
Based on what you’ve seen from the 2022-23 Knicks, I don’t think you have to worry about the lottery standings at the end of the season this year.
Regardless of what happens at the trade deadline or in the second half of the season, these Knicks have a foundation to build off of. They don’t need to rebuild, tear it down, tank for a draft pick.
With Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett and Tom Thibodeau, this group has the starting point of a winning roster. Of course, the Knicks have to make the right moves to build a contender from here. That starts with their decisions ahead of Feb. 9 trade deadline.
But this group under team president Leon Rose has shown you enough to conclude that they don’t need to blow up the roster and hope for a high 2023 draft pick. They’re resilient (see the 8-0 winning streak in early December and the last two wins without Mitchell Robinson). Based on the club’s recent draft history, the Knicks have shown you they can add talent with a mid-first round pick. And they have a stable nucleus.
I’m not suggesting they don’t need to add a top-tier star. They do. And I’m not suggesting everything has been perfect. Far from it (Cam Reddish, Evan Fournier and Derrick Rose being out of the rotation is evidence of one of several missteps by the organization). But this group has enough tools on the roster and in draft capital to build a winner without tanking for a 2023 draft pick.
That in and of itself is progress for an organization that’s been playing for that year’s draft all too often in recent years. So if a player hits a shot at the end of Game No. 82 this season to seal a win, Knicks fans should be happy for that player. There’s no need to worry about where the ping pong balls may bounce with this group. That alone is a step in the right direction.