The other day, The Hoop Doctors Rumor Patrolreported that the New York Knicks have signed Patrick Ewing, Jr. to a contract. That alone doesn’t jump off the screen at you, and it shouldn’t. For a franchise that has had more go wrong than good in the past decade, it’s easy to brush certain news off as not being that significant. While he won’t save a franchise, this is a good look for the Knicks for a couple of reasons. This deal is non-guaranteed and he’ll have to compete for a roster spot. I say give it to him.
When you say “Patrick Ewing” and “Knicks” in the same sentence, naturally you think of the elder. Each Ewing has completely different skill-sets. Senior was a scorer, a go-to-guy and one of the best to ever play his position. His son is completely different. He is more of a hustle, high energy, solid defense type of guy. For starters, he only 6’8” while his father is a 7-footer. That alone means that they cannot play the same position and must contribute differently.
The Knicks haven’t had much to be excited about lately. They held their breath for LeBron for two years and we all know what happened (or what didn’t happen) with that. However, they did significantly overhaul their roster. But the son of the greatest Knick ever has a chance to make the team. I’m not saying that he should make the team because of who his father is. Nepotism doesn’t (well, at least it shouldn’t) work in professional sports, but his signing would cause a buzz to a certain degree.
While Ewing, Jr. won’t average 20 point a night, he provides intangibles that are key to any successful team. He’s scrappy, he hustles and he could get the crowd fired up. Granted, those won’t show up in the box score, nor will they get you named to an All-Star team, but they pay dividends for a team.
This actually should’ve happened two years ago. In 2008, Junior was on the Knicks Summer League squad but was ultimately, and foolishly, the final roster cut in favor of Anthony Roberson. At that point, it would’ve made more sense to keep Ewing, Jr. He was a contributing nicely and Roberson was playing behind a bunch of guards. Granted, neither one would’ve made a huge difference, but Roberson wasn’t the correct choice.
There are no expectations surrounding the Knicks heading into any season. Even with the new roster, there still aren’t any. In fact, if there are expectations, it’s that it is expected for them to do poorly. So no one would bat an eye if they fell flat on their face this year. Even amongst Knicks fans, there are many Patrick Ewing, Sr. haters, but there are many more supporters. The Garden faithful would embrace Junior, and his presence and style of play would not only excite the crowd, but that trickle-down effect could potentially fire his teammates up as well. Let’s face it. The Garden could use some excitement.
The Knicks have absolutely nothing to lose by making this move, and a whole lot more to gain.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes.
