PLANTING THE SEEDS
Growth of young stars priority to new regime
To borrow from Vince Lombardi, “Winning isn’t everything, player development is.”
At least that’s the motto of the Knicks’ leadership quartet of Steve Mills-Scott Perry-Craig Robinson-David Fizdale entering another training camp Monday in which playoff expectations are at a low but optimism for future success at a high.
Mills, the team president, has been part of so many errant plans in his two Knicks stints that he feels he’s finally gotten this one right.
Mills tabbed a charismatic coach in Fizdale who excels at developing young talent. Mills brought on last summer a respected league lifer in Perry as general manager and a brash player development director in Robinson, Michelle Obama’s brother.
“Craig Robinson says it and we live it,’’ Mills said. “We tell everybody in our building from the secretary to the trainer, everyone who works for us is in the player development business. Wherever you [can] touch this guy’s life.’’
The rhetoric all week and all summer has been the same — “culture,” “process,’’ “laying down bricks,” “patience,’’ “accountability” and “not skipping steps.’’ The catastrophic Kristaps Porzingis knee injury last season set the plan back, but didn’t destroy its essence of building through the draft lottery with 2019 cap space.
“Let’s go!’’ Fizdale said Thursday. “We talked enough this summer, it’s time to get training camp going.’’
The Knicks’ tortured fans are buying into the talk — for now. The Over/Under on Knicks victories has dropped at Las Vegas’ Westgate Sportsbook from 29½ wins at its initial August posting to 28½ wins. Nowhere in management’s rhetoric is a playoff berth referred to as a goal.
The Knicks will open the season Oct. 17 against the Hawks with a young team, young coach and with its best player, Porzingis, out indefinitely.
“I don’t think I can put a number on that,’’ Fizdale said of a win prediction. “I don’t know if you can base success on any of that. We’re going to play every game to win it. We have young kids and a lot of bumps and bruises come with that, but I also don’t want to put a cap on them. If the kids are out there kicking butt, they’re kicking butt. If there’s some suffering, that’s what they have to go through.’’
To management’s credit, the Knicks are a lot more athletic than in the past. With Porzingis out, the Knicks will rely heavily on first-round pick Kevin Knox’s growth as a potential No. 1 option as a combo forward, which may be too much to ask despite his soaring summer league.
More likely, guard Tim Hardaway Jr. will inherit the No. 1 role — one in which he may be too erratic to excel. In fact, he’s regarded by some scouts as a sixth man on a playoff team. The Knicks also are gambling that former lottery busts Mario Hezonja, Emmanuel Mudiay, Trey Burke and Noah Vonleh produce and a sturdier Frank Ntilikina shows vast improvement in his second year.
Uber-athletic rookie center Mitchell Robinson will be fun to see develop, but Enes Kanter is their given double-double guy, who Fizdale thinks can be a real difference-maker if he becomes a 3-point shooting threat.
So many ifs, but Burke, one of the surer things, says they have enough to break the five-year playoff drought.
“I definitely see enough talent here to make the playoffs,’’ Burke told The Post. “No doubt in my mind. Not just Knox but Mitchell is a great addition. Tim, we know how he can be when he’s hot. A lot of people are counting us out. I don’t care about that.”
Fizdale has shown he has an outsized personality perfect for New York and connects with young players. But can he outsmart more experienced head coaches with strategic tactics down the stretch? The former Grizzlies coach fired early in his second season admits “how our guys finish off close games” will determine their win-loss record.
“I really do think we can put a fast team on the floor,’’ Fizdale said. “We’re really athletic. We plan to play fast but we’re going to share the ball. There’s not going to be anybody that dominates the ball for us. Defensively, that’ll be our anchor. We’ll be a team that hopefully can pressure. I think you’re going to see a team that’s fun to watch.’’
If a losing season ever can be fruitful, this may be the one. Mills and Perry seem as content choosing another lottery pick along the lines of Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett and Nassir Little as winning games.
“The best part for me,” Fizdale said, “when we sat down at our interview, the first words they said to me was ‘Tank? We will not ever tank.’ ’’
Of course, the definition of tanking is subjective — as is banking a future on player development.