Following a third straight season where Knox saw his minutes and production decline, there isn't much optimism surrounding the former Kentucky product. The Knicks continued to improve their roster this offseason, and Knox could see less than the 11.0 minutes he received last season. The forward lost his minutes to Obi Toppin and Julius Randle, who will continue to see big roles next season. In the final year of Knox's rookie contract, the 22-year-old will need to find a way to be productive in the limited minutes he receives if he wants to stay in the NBA. Knox has little to no value even in deep fantasy leagues this season.
After an underwhelming rookie campaign, Knox saw his role reduced dramatically in his second season, where he fell off the fantasy radar almost entirely. The young forward's playing time declined from 28.8 minutes to 17.9 minutes per contest, while his scoring was slashed in half, and his rebounding numbers fell in similar fashion. New York loaded up in the 2019 offseason, signing a handful of pricey veterans after missing out on major studs in free agency, which accounted - at least in part - for Knox's decline. The Kentucky product did not prove himself to be an adept rebounder, and he struggled mightily as a shooter in each of his first two seasons. With the addition of lottery selection Obi Toppin in this year's draft, there's little room for optimism as Knox heads into his third season. He figures to scrap for minutes and will likely be buried on the depth chart in 2020-21. He should remain on the dynasty radar, but he doesn't need to be selected in redraft leagues of nearly any size this season.
Knox joined the Knicks with relatively high expectations as the ninth overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. His upside as a scorer is obvious, given his athletic 6-foot-9 frame and nice shooting touch, but Knox struggled with efficiency as a rookie. He shot just 37.0 percent from the field on 12.2 attempts per game, 34.3 percent from deep on 4.9 attempts and 71.7 percent from the charity stripe on 3.0 attempts. While he racked up 11 games with at least 20 points, he also tallied 27 games in the single-digits. But it's important to consider how much of the offensive gameplan fell on him as a 19-year-old, as he led the Knicks in total minutes played (2,158) and total points (963). Heading into this season, Knox will have more help surrounding him, not to mention some presumed development over the summer. He figures to be the Knicks' starting small forward, so he should have no issues finding shots. Whether or not he can be efficient will be the ultimate determiner in his fantasy value.
In just one year of college ball at Kentucky, Knox immediately grabbed national attention for his ability to score the ball. In 37 starts, the forward posted an average of 15.8 points, while shooting 44.5 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from the three-point line. He demonstrated the ability to knock down shots from all levels of the court and that should translate well to the NBA game. Knox also has fantastic size and athleticism for the forward positions, which should allow him to get on the court right away and matchup with opposing players at the position without much issue. That potential for early playing time is further magnified by the fact that he's joining a Knicks team who will be without the services of superstar big man Kristaps Porzingis for at least the first few months of the season. That immediately suggests the Knicks won't be in playoff contention and could push the staff to give Knox big minutes out of the gate. While Knox is only 19 years old and will likely make plenty of mistakes early on, his potential to develop into an explosive scorer and a solid rebounder brings him into contention for dynasty leagues, as well as a riskier late-round guy in standard leagues for those betting on a quick transition. Still, with a lack of defensive statistics and the fact that he's almost guaranteed to struggle during stretches of the season considering his age, Fantasy owners will likely need to be patient with Knox.