Whether Frank Ntilikina has played his final game as a Knick is unclear but he’s played his final game of his alarmingly poor second season in the NBA.
The Knicks announced Frank Ntilikina will miss the final seven games with his re-aggravated groin, leading to questions on whether he should have played last Sunday.
The 2017 lottery pick played in just 43 games this season, finishing with just a 33.7 shooting percentage and averaging 5.7 points.
The 20-year-old Frenchman had missed 24 straight and two weeks with a groin pull and returned Friday, playing a considerable 25 minutes. But in his second game on Sunday, his groin flared up again, pulled in the second half.
“I got to stay positive to what is happening,” Ntilikina said. “It’s frustrating but it’s for my health. I know it’s the right decision to make right now. I still grew a lot as a player and a person. Of course it’s frustrating to not have played as many games as I wanted to. But I still got better.”
Ntilikina revealed that off his Friday return, he didn’t feel perfect entering Sunday’s contest.
“I felt something before the game,” Ntilikina said. “After the (Sunday) game it was pretty sore. I practiced after the first game. In the morning I had that feeling I was not 100 percent. I was just trying to get through the game. After the game I knew it was worse than before.”
That it took so long for Ntilikina to return from the initial injury raises concerns if there’s a permanent weakness in the area. Asked if any surgery could be in place, coach David Fizdale said “Not yet, no.”
Ntilikina said he is still deciding on whether he would play for France in the World Cup later this summer.
“It’s frustrating obviously – more for him than anybody,” Fizdale said. “We would’ve loved to have those minutes for him to log in and help his player development. The kid is 20 years old. He’s going to have a great summer, get him healed up and get him ready for next year.”
Although a stout defender, Ntilikina has struggled on the offensive end for two seasons. He came back to training camp bigger and stronger but at 6-6, he still didn’t show the shooting knack or creativity to be a point guard. He ranked last in the NBA in effective field goal percentage that counts 3-point shots.
Hence the Knicks, according to a source, will explore their options on Draft Night in June, especially after they obtained point guard Dennis Smith Jr. in the Kristaps Porzingis blockbuster trade two months ago. Ntilikina and Smith never played together even as Fizdale wanted to see how their varied skills meshed together in the backcourt.
Asked if Ntilikina is part of the future, Fizdale said, “Yeah, he’s on our roster, isn’t he?”
Fizdale also talked about Kristaps Porzingis as “waiting in the wings’’ and raved about how “engaged’’ he was with the program. He was traded ten days later.
Fizdale has talked up free agent point guard Emmanuel Mudiay repeatedly and has stated two-way G Leaguer Kadeem Allen has a future here. And of course there’s Smith Jr., branded as their point-guard-of-the-future.
Add in the NBA draft with a possibility of drafting either Ja Morant or Darius Garland and free agency with PG Kyrie Irving and Ntilikina may not fit.
Fizdale has sidestepped whether he considers Ntilikina a future point guard. He talks more about his versatility in the ability to play off the ball. “I don’t see a position,’’ Fizdale said. “That’s what I keep stressing with Frank. Frank does everything for me. That’s why he’s so important. He can play point guard, two-guard and 3. And he can guard multiple positions and we just don’t have a lot of those on this team.’’
A Knicks statement said, “He was re-evaluated by Knicks medical staff. Following the re-evaluation, the team’s medical staff has recommended that he miss the final two weeks of the season.”“Physically he was totally prepared for this year,” Fizdale said. “That’s why I felt totally comfortable putting him on different people. He really put a lot into his body this summer. This kid, I feel really bad for him. He’s one of our hardest workers.”
Fizdale hopes he works and fine tunes his 3-point shot. “We’re going to really try to nail down his 3-point shooting obviously,’’ Fizdale said. “That’s going to be a big part of it and some of his mid-range game we’ll really work on as well.”
That the Knicks couldn’t even see him work as a tandem with Smith Jr. became another blow.
“I just think we can work really well together,’’ Ntilikina said. “Off the court we talk to each other a lot. We have the same vision of basketball. It’s always good and exciting to think about the future.”
If there is one.
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