JUST PUBLISHED TO TRUEHOOP SUBSCRIBERS: David Thorpe noticed something magical Tom Thibodeau did—and now RJ Barrett is shooting the crap out of the ball.
Also in the same post: insight into William Wesley’s approach to building the Knicks. Here’s a peek:
BY HENRY ABBOTT
The pick of the 2020 NBA draft was, arguably, the Knicks’ selection of Kentucky guard Immanuel Quickley. To David Thorpe and advanced stats, the 25th pick is a solid contender for Rookie of the Year.
But for a moment in the Knicks’ busy draft war room that night, it seemed they might end up with Argentine shooting guard Leandro Bolmaro instead. Sources confirm—Knicks executive William Wesley wanted none of it. One source told reporter Yaron Weitzman that Wesley pitched a fit.
Sources tell TrueHoop, that Wesley actually didn’t know or care much about Bolmaro. However, Wesley did care about Quickley. Wesley’s son lived a few yards from Quickley in the Kentucky dorm. Wesley has been famously tight with John Calipari forever.
With this player, the crucial work of building trust between franchise and player was already well underway. Wesley didn’t have to learn about Quickley’s workout habits from pre-draft interviews of private investigators. He knew, from talking to his own son, that most nights at 9 p.m., Quickly was in the gym.
Wesley is decades into earning the trust of the players, it’s at the heart of the Knicks’ rebuilding plan, and their competitive advantage. He has deep connections to many programs, especially Kentucky under John Calipari and Oregon, where current Knicks assistant Kenny Payne was once coach.
Wesley advocated for players he knew. Weitzman reported last month in the New York Post:
“When Wes said ‘we,’ people weren’t sure if he was referring to the Knicks or Kentucky,” one NBA source said, referring to his longtime friendship with Kentucky coach John Calipari. Wesley would direct all sorts of conversations back to the school. Prospects from other programs — they weren’t tough enough to handle Kentucky. NBA stars who had played for Duke, like Jayson Tatum and Zion Williamson — Kentucky hadn’t actually wanted them. When conversations centered around players not connected to the school — or Creative Artists Agency, where he and Rose had worked — he’d often close his eyes. …
Before long, Wesley made clear which prospects he wanted to see wearing Knicks uniforms. There were players he liked, like Oregon’s Payton Pritchard, Kentucky’s Tyrese Maxey and Memphis’ James Wiseman. He loved Nick Richards, an All-SEC center from Kentucky who was pegged by evaluators as a late-second round pick, and would often direct conversations back to him. He pressed for the team to consider taking Richards at No. 27. He was also a huge fan of Toppin and Florida State’s Devin Vassell, both of whom had signed with CAA.
But the player he seemed to crave most was Quickley.
“He pushed him like crazy,” an NBA source said.
Ask yourself what is holding your team back; probably you think the roster could use more talent. You would consider, say, a 6-6 shooting guard from Argentina. Cast the widest possible net, get the finest possible talent.
You are not William Wesley.
Wesley’s bet—and it seems to be working for the Knicks—is that the essential conundrum for most NBA players is not a lack of talent but a lack of trust, concerns about minutes, backstabbing, media games. Not being all in.
Almost a decade ago, the Knicks attempted the same thing, with the same billionaire entrusting the same William Wesley. As I wrote for ESPN at the time, LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh had defeated the mistrust that tears apart most teams by taking over the Heat together, and building it in their image.
Their closest friends wanted to do the same. Carmelo Anthony arrived in New York with precisely that plan. Wesley was Carmelo’s mentor in this, and a constant presence around the team, including on road trips.
The Knicks would build around Carmelo with players who shared a vision, had each other’s backs, and didn’t squabble over touches and dollars.
Then, while Anthony was out injured, Jeremy Lin took the world by storm. This wasn’t part of the plan, Lin wasn’t part of the Family vision. He would want the ball in crunch time, he would run Mike D’Antoni’s free-flowing offense, which wasn’t very Carmelo-centric at all. Lin—who was celebrated from the White House—would serve as a reminder how much love the world didn’t have for Carmelo.
With Lin and Carmelo vying for supremacy the Knicks would now be dogged by the kinds of disharmony, tension, and jealousy that Carmelo had come to New York to escape.
The Rockets offered Lin a big contract; Carmelo later backtracked, but initially called $25.1 million “ridiculous” for Lin—who wasn’t a Knick for long. Neither was D’Antoni, whose preferred offense doesn’t involve much watching Carmelo slow-dribble into a contested 2-pointer.
The family approach is a little closed-minded.
But Quickley is the argument for a family-style approach. Most of the management research of the last few decades steers away from yelling and taskmasters and toward making workers feel safe. Safe to propose new ideas, safe to show what they can do, safe to try new things, safe to fail.
Imagine being Quickley right now! He doesn’t just have the ball, as a rookie, on a decent team. He has a deep-and-growing relationship with a heavyweight in the front office, who can smooth things over with anyone, from James Dolan to Tom Thibodeau. He’s free to explore his abilities.
One of the questions about Quickley in college was about his shooting. What would his 40 percent 3-point college shooting mean in the NBA, with a longer shot and worlds-better defenders?
He’s making a very respectable 37 percent, while among the league’s leaders in free throw shooting at 90 percent. He’s shooting with the confidence of a player who feels secure. That’s what family can do.