New free-agent signee Nerlens Noel wants to be “a mentor’’ to youngster Mitchell Robinson, but sounded like he’d prefer to do it as the Knicks’ starting center.
The 26-year-old, 6-foot-10 defensive big man will battle Robinson for the starting job. Last season, veteran Taj Gibson won the starting role and was a terrific adviser to Robinson, considered a building block at age 23.
“I’m coming in with a competitive mindset to help this team win,’’ Noel said Tuesday when asked about the center battle. “I know my attributes and what I bring to the table. It’s a young team. I want to give everything I can. Mitchell is a young player I’ve been watching the last couple of years. His development kind of resembles mine — his playing style above the rim, blocking shots.
“I just want to mentor him any way possible. Whatever position we play throughout the season will play itself out. I want to be a big brother to him and give him a lot of advice throughout the season. We’re both competitors.”
The 2013 lottery pick by the Sixers out of Kentucky raised his stock in his second season with Oklahoma City, averaging 7.4 points, 4.9 rebounds with a 68.4 shooting percentage as the Thunder made the playoffs.
After signing a one-year, $6 million deal last week, Noel said he wants to be “a leader’’ in New York and help the club with his playoff experience.
It was telling that when coach Tom Thibodeau was asked about Robinson, he added Noel to the conversation. Thibodeau is known to like going with older players.
“I think [Robinson] has had some really good moments,’’ Thibodeau said. “But I think he’s got a long way to go. The work part, the professionalism to continue to grow to impact winning, there’s a lot of room for growth. … I don’t know where he’ll end up. There’s things he can do that’s very unique. I think we’re very fortunate to have Nerlens Noel. In some ways, he’s very similar when you look at rim protection. We’re excited about both guys.
PG Dennis Smith Jr., coming off a horrendous 2019-20 season, said he’s looking forward to Thibodeau, known for getting the best out of point guards such as Derrick Rose.
“We briefly talked about the Bulls team,’’ Smith said. I’ve watched [Thibodeau’s] offense and seen how he plays. He definitely likes to use a point guard in his offense. He thinks how a point guard plays on defense is as important to him as well. Those two things I picked up, I realize it will be an emphasis here.’’
Thibodeau shrugged off a roster featuring five Kentucky players, a former Kentucky assistant (Kenny Payne) and a slew of guys from Creative Artists Agency, which Knicks president Leon Rose used to run. Thibodeau, a CAA client, said it’s “more coincidental.’’ He called Kentucky “one of the best programs in the country.’’ Senior vice president William Wesley, a former CAA adviser, was tight with the Kentucky program.
“There wasn’t anything said like, ‘Well, we got to have Kentucky players’ or ‘We have to have CAA players,’ ” Thibodeau said. “That’s just not the case.”