SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Knicks GM Scott Perry hit a home run with one recent Kentucky lottery pick. Too bad he plays for Sacramento.
The Knicks will get their first view Monday of Sacramento’s new-and-improved point guard De’Aaron Fox, who has overcome a rocky rookie season to lead the resurgent Kings to a 31-31 record. The speedy Fox had led Kentucky to the NCAA Elite 8.
Perry was GM of the Kings when he took Fox at No. 5 in 2017, and he considered Dennis Smith Jr. at that slot. According to a source, Perry looked upon the 6-foot-5 Fox as a more complete player than Smith, listed generously at 6-3, and potentially a better defender because of his size.
However, Perry considered Smith the draft’s most athletic player. Before the Knicks shipped out Kristaps Porzingis in January, Perry called his former employer asking about Fox and was rejected. Smith became Perry’s consolation prize — along with the extra precious cap space in the Porzingis blockbuster.
Smith and Fox are both 21 and have known each other since they were in ninth grade, having played against each other in myriad youth tournaments. They first met at Chris Paul’s summer camp in North Carolina.
Fox is averaging 17.2 points, 7.3 assists and has solid defensive metrics.
“He’s a really good player,” Smith said of Fox after the Knicks began a three-game Western swing with a blowout loss to the Clippers on Sunday. “But it’s Knicks versus Kings [Monday], so hopefully we can get a first win of the road trip.”
“He’s a competitor, super fast,” Smith added when pressed. “He knows how to play the game.”
Smith doesn’t like to talk up upcoming opponents, but he is confident in his own ability. When asked if he considered himself faster than Fox (as he clocked in the NBA combine), Smith said, “I am [faster].”
Essentially, Perry has selected two straight lottery picks from Kentucky — a program he respects because of how John Calipari prepares its one-and-done players for the NBA.
Perry has not had the same success with former Kentucky combo forward Kevin Knox, who is amid a trying rookie season. In fact, it may be time for coach David Fizdale to consider bringing Knox off the bench to give him a different look.
Knox is averaging 12.4 points, but his shooting percentage is 35.8, and his effective field goal percentage ranks fourth worst in the NBA (42.3). The EFG factors in 3-point shots and is considered a truer measure of scoring efficiency.
According to a source, Perry isn’t concerned about Knox’s play because he’s 19 and was the second-youngest player in the draft. In fact, Perry has cited to confidants Fox’s rise in his second season as a prime example of needing patience with Knox.
As for Smith, he has had a couple of dud outings, including in LA on Sunday, but he’s brought sheer athleticism to the roster. He’s enjoying a fresh start under Fizdale and disputes any notion he didn’t have a good on-court equilibrium with Dallas rookie sensation Luka Doncic.
The feeling in Dallas was Smith and Doncic were tight off the court, but didn’t have a good balance on the court, with both players needing the ball. Smith would have needed to eventually play shooting guard with Doncic, and the former North Carolina State star hasn’t excelled from long range.
In a dozen games as a Knick, Smith is averaging 14.8 points and 6.6 assists but shooting just 27 percent from the 3-point arc.
“The chemistry was good,” Smith countered. “You see him throwing me alley-oops and you think it was bad chemistry?
“People speculate because that’s just the nature of media guys or trolls on Twitter, Instagram. They are going to come up with all kinds of stories to get reactions out of people. That’s how things go. That’s out of my control. That’s out of his control. I ain’t never had no issue with him. I tell anybody if we had issues, it could be addressed. But there never was an issue.”