5. Kevin Knox

New York Knicks fans were hopeful that this would be the year former lottery pick Kevin Knox broke out. His former assistant coach at Kentucky, Kenny Payne, was joining Tom Thibodeau’s staff. It brought optimism, but once again, things failed to click for Knox.

While he showed improvement from the 3-point line, knocking down a strong 39.1 percent, the rest of his game was still far behind. If you cannot consistently perform defensively on a Tom Thibodeau-coached team, you won’t play, and that is what happened to Knox.

With the team healthy, it was Knox who was removed from the rotation. Before his appearance in garbage time against the Wizards, Knox was a DNP – Coach’s Decision for six consecutive games. However, with the injury to Mitchell Robinson, he could find himself back in the rotation.

Thibodeau will have to adjust the minutes for his frontcourt with someone needing to step into the starting five. Depending on nightly matchups, Knox could be given another opportunity at power forward with the second unit.

The former Kentucky product works hard, as he stays after games to continue working on his craft. However, his chances are running out with the Knicks; this could be the last opportunity to make something happen under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden.