SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley wasn't able to get to every single Knicks question in his last mailbag, but he did want to answer one in particular about Frank Ntilikina.
Even though it's been three years in the league, the jury is still out on the former first-round pick out of France. That's why trade rumors have been swirling around Ntilikina for the last two seasons.
With the Knicks changing front office leadership with Leon Rose being named team president, those rumors only intensify because Rose has zero connection to Ntilikina. So Begley decided to break it all down, starting with what happened last season.
"If we were talking before the [NBA] Draft last year, I would've said there's a 75 percent chance the Knicks traded Ntilikina because other teams said the Knicks were in touch with them about potential Ntilikina deals," he said. "At one point, one team said the Knicks were open to accepting something as little as an early second-round pick for Ntilikina."
Why only a second-round pick? Well, Ntilikina's numbers don't pop off the page at all. During the 2018-19 season, he was battling injuries that didn't allow him to get into a groove, scoring only 5.7 points and dishing out 2.8 assists per game over 43 contests. His offensive game didn't make any real strides forward after his rookie season, either.
A deal never came to fruition, though, so the 21-year-old played out his third season in the NBA looking to quiet the doubters. Begley thinks he did that in some respects.
"But I think Ntilikina, by and large, took a step forward this year," he explained. "Yes, his inconsistency on offense is still there, but particularly before the season was suspended, Ntilikina was playing aggressively on both ends of the floor."
His numbers took a tiny tick forward with 6.3 points per game over 57 games. But, as Begley pointed out, it would've gone up more had the season not gotten suspended. His shooting percentage -- one of his biggest issues -- also improved to just under 40 percent.
Still, Ntilikina has not provided the Knicks with any consistent evidence that his offensive game is going to catch up with his defensive prowess. So what does Begley believe will happen under Rose's reign now?
It's too early to tell, but he has a feeling Rose isn't going to be shopping around the 6-foot-6 guard like the Knicks did last year.
"It's hard for me to put a percentage right now on the likelihood that Ntilikina is back with the team, but I do think that Leon Rose isn't going to be out there shopping Ntilikina as the Knicks have been previously," Begley said.