Second-year shooting guard Allonzo Trier is currently in the mix to start in the New York Knicks’ season opener on Wednesday.
With the point guard competition still a mystery for the New York Knicks, there is a new backcourt pairing that could come out of nowhere: RJ Barrett and Allonzo Trier. Ian Begley of SNY reports that Trier is a possibility to start on Wednesday.
“Also worth noting: guard Allonzo Trier is under consideration for a spot in the Knicks’ starting five, per SNY sources,” Begley wrote. “Members of the organization liked how Barrett and Trier looked together during preseason and training camp, per league sources.”
Dennis Smith Jr., Elfrid Payton, and Frank Ntilikina underwhelmed during the preseason while Barrett flashed some potential as a primary ballhandler. However, it’s still surprising to hear that head coach David Fizdale is considering playing Barrett at point guard in his NBA debut.
A starting five with Barrett and Trier would be suspect defensively. Add in the fact that Mitchell Robinson and Taj Gibson are questionable and the San Antonio Spurs must be licking their chops.
Trier was undrafted as a rookie last season but quickly worked his way into the regular rotation. In fact, the Knicks originally signed the Arizona product to a two-way contract, but later converted him to a two-year NBA deal so he wouldn’t have to spend any time in the G League.
The shooting guard averaged 10.9 points on 44.8% shooting from the field and 39.4% on 2.1 three-point attempts per game as a rookie. There’s no doubt about Trier’s ability to score the basketball, but he still needs to develop other aspects of his game, mainly passing and off-ball defense.
Fizdale is playing his cards close to the chest so don’t expect an official announcement of the starting lineup until his pregame availability on Wednesday.
