At the NBA All-Star Game on February 17, 2020, walker, the protagonist of this article, scored 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting in the opening game. A year later Walker had fallen out of the Knicks rotation. According to the latest news, the Knicks began to consider a deal as well as the possibility of buying out Walker. In a year, Walker fell from the All-Star start to the rotation, which certainly has injury factors, but the Knicks are not a bit low on Walker.
As the saying goes, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse, and walker is at least an All-Star player even as he gets older and injured. Healthy time is the top 3 point guard in the East. The 31-year-old shouldn't have been without the ball.
Walker joined the Knicks this offseason, which seemed to be a very reasonable and cost-effective deal in the eyes of everyone. The Knicks were among the league's top defensive teams last season, relying too heavily on Randle on the offensive end. Under the premise of having excellent defense, if the team can introduce a few more offensive points, the team's strength can most likely increase by leaps and bounds.
In addition to Walker's joining, the addition of French goalscorer Fournier has also improved the team's offensive strength. At the beginning of the game, the Knicks performed well and won a lot of victories. But as the season progressed, Knicks head coach Thibodeau made a surprising decision to move the Walker DNP. Walker fell out of the team rotation.
Walker has played 18 games this season. With nearly 12+3+3 stats per game, Walker only played 25 minutes per game. Shooting close to 43 percent from the field and his three-point shooting percentage to nearly 42 percent, Walker is better than he has been in the past few seasons in terms of efficiency, and his offensive form is still online. After Walker fell out of the rotation, the Knicks' record plummeted, and before today's game to beat the Rockets, the Knicks only achieved a record of 12 wins and 16 losses, ranking fourth from the bottom in the East. Only three Eastern Conference teams have worse records than the Knicks. The Knicks finished fourth in the East last season, a contrast so great.
Why did the Knicks let Walker fall out of the rotation? Some fans believe that Walker and the team star Randall have a ball right conflict. Walker needs the ball in hand, and his defense isn't as good. In order to secure Randle's position at the heart of the team, the Knicks had to remove Walker from the rotation. Some fans also believe that this is the wishful thinking of the team's head coach Tom Thibodeau, who does not want to use Walker anymore. Fans familiar with Thibodeau know that Thibodeau is very fond of using defensive players. Walker is now a veteran, and the defense is on a downward trend. Thibodeau did have reasons not to like to use him.
If the Knicks still don't use Walker. Then they should trade or buy out Walker as early as possible and not waste his time. Walker is only 31 years old, and theoretically the point guard has a game of strength at the age of 31, at the end of his career. Walker has been actively adjusting himself this year, training hard and recovering from injuries. This year's excellent offensive efficiency is proof of this. If he leaves New York and goes to other strong teams to play as a 6th man or starter, there is no problem at all.
All we can say is that the Knicks appear to have signed Walker in the offseason to improve the roster. But because Walker's style of play didn't match the team, the signing didn't make any practical sense. Dear readers, do you think Walker will be bought out or traded by the Knicks in the future? Feel free to leave a comment in the article comment area.