Бэн Симмонс болон Нью-Йорк Никсийн ирээдүйн талаарх асуултууд

Earlier this week, part one of my Knicks mailbag was published, centering around the key players on the roster and what’s next for New York as it pertains to extensions.

Here in part two, the focus is on the start of the year, young players on the roster, filling a roster spot and more.

Let’s get into it.

Should the Knicks take a chance on Ben Simmons? — Dennis M.

I do think Simmons should get another opportunity in the NBA, but not with the Knicks.

Unless Simmons has learned to shoot while away from the game, I’m not a fan of any player who is most impactful offensively with the ball in their hands but is unable to or unwilling to shoot from distance. Teams will sag off of him and muck up New York’s offense. That’s not what a title-defending team needs.

Furthermore, adding Simmons would be an unnecessary distraction, and this organization already is under a microscope at all times. Because Simmons was a No. 1 pick and has had a weird career, he’ll be the topic of conversation far more than someone at the end of the bench should be. Again, not worth it, especially in New York.

Yes, Simmons has historically been a good defender and rebounder. He’s a 6-foot-10 ballhandler. Those don’t grow on trees. However, I’ll gladly pass on anyone who can’t and won’t shoot in today’s game.

To me, Simmons would fit best on a rebuilding team, one that’ll allow him to play free without all eyes on him, so he can try to find his rhythm without the pressure of needing to help a team win.

Where do you see this team in 3-5 years? Still contending, rebuilding or somewhere in between? — Tommy M.

In my opinion, this iteration of the Knicks has a three-year shelf life. Three years from now, Karl-Anthony Towns will be pushing 34, Josh Hart will be 34, Jalen Brunson will be 33, Mikal Bridges will be 34 and OG Anunoby will be 32. That’s not old — I’m 34, so you better not say it’s old *balls fist* — but everyone except Anunoby will be past what many consider to be their prime years.

Additionally, many of these players already have a lot of miles on them. Bridges has played a trillion minutes already. Hart has played a billion. Towns is a big man, and they don’t tend to age well. He also has had some lower-body surgeries. Brunson is a small guard, and they tend to slow down with time. Anunoby has battled injuries throughout his career.

Everyone in the starting lineup could still be contributing to winning basketball four years from now, but I’m not sure it would be at the highest level. Over the next two or three seasons, this New York team should be able to remain in the title hunt as long as health is in their favor. After that, I think we start to see several players decline.

That’s why the Knicks need to find ways to invest in young players who they believe can turn into something sooner rather than later. Having fresh, young legs will help preserve the older ones.

How much will the summer of celebration, distractions and surgeries impact the Knicks in the first 25 percent of the season? — TC T.

Great question.

Obviously, I have no way of proving this, but I do think the first few months of the season will be bumpy. Brunson had surgery on his shooting wrist earlier this summer and might be close to finally shooting with regularity. Towns has been celebrating a title and a marriage. That’s not to say he hasn’t been working out or anything, but he has had to balance his time in a way he normally wouldn’t. Other players, surely, didn’t get back into the swing of things until later than they’re used to because the season went longer and there were a lot of championship-celebration responsibilities.

In addition, many players have talked about the weight of the Knicks jersey. The franchise, so desperate to be relevant again for what it did on the court rather than the city it plays in, conquered a feat many generations of fans may have thought would never happen again. Naturally, and this is all assumption, of course, the players will feel relaxed. The regular season can’t really compare to what they just went through. Other teams will be hungry to take what the Knicks have, and the schedule to begin the year is no cakewalk.

It’ll take some time for New York to wake up and really get going once the season starts. Again, there is no way to prove this, but winning a championship in this city can relax muscles until reality kicks back in.

Unless Leon Rose has something up his sleeve, it appears to me that Kevin McCullar is the perfect guy to spell Hart so the Knicks can preserve him for the long season. Thoughts? — Harry Albert

When I put out the ask for mailbag questions, the last thing I expected was more than a handful of questions centered around Kevin McCullar. Yet, I got more than a handful of questions about McCullar, who isn’t even on the team right now.

I could see why someone believes McCullar can replicate some of what Hart does, but I don’t see him ever being a big part of New York’s plans. Yes, McCullar plays hard and has some of the hustle qualities. To me, though, that is where the comparisons stop. McCullar is nowhere near the shooter that Hart is, and Hart is a league-average 3-point shooter for his career. We have college, G League and very, very small NBA sample sizes to reach that conclusion from. McCullar isn’t the facilitator that Hart is, either.

I know you weren’t comparing the two players, but there’s a sea of difference in impact.

McCullar has only been in the NBA for two seasons, but he’s 25. He’ll turn 26 in March. He’s already had knee issues that forced him to drop in the draft. At this point, he is what he is as a player. Sure, maybe with more opportunity there is a way for him to garner more consistency. However, if I’m the Knicks, I’d invest minutes in younger players — 19, 20, 21 or 22 — with upside. Those are the players who’ll help keep this train on the track three years from now.

The Knicks are at a crossroads even with someone like Pacôme Dadiet. He’s only 21 and still has room to grow, but he hasn’t shown much in his limited game minutes. Now, development happens behind the scenes, not just in games, and maybe they’re seeing more to make them believe he’s worth a continued investment. But Dadiet has a $5-million-plus team option for next season. The Knicks need to be diligent about their finances and find ways to have roster flexibility. Dadiet has to show something this year in game action.

New York could use another young player besides Mo Diawara to prove worthy of rotation minutes sooner rather than later, and I’m just not sure that player is on the roster right now.