Despite being one of the pieces included in the Jaren Jackson Jr. deal, it's safe to say that John Konchar was a solid find by the Grizzlies in 2019 after going undrafted. While Konchar has been a depth piece for most of his career, his hustle has always stood out, and he has been a consistently solid player. Now, the New York Knicks get to see what made John Konchar so loved in Memphis.
After drawing some interest from some of the better teams from the Eastern Conference, John Konchar has decided to join the defending champion Knicks. The Knicks already have a very strong roster, but if there is one thing they have thrived with in recent offseasons, it's their ability to build within the margins.
Think of pieces such as Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado, who were incredible value finds by the Knicks and absolutely pivotal to the Knicks' recent championship. Now, with John Konchar, it looks like the Knicks have just made another strong addition to their bench and one that fits them quite well.
When looking at John Konchar's career stats, they might not jump out, especially on offense. However, there is still a lot to like about Konchar's game, and it's easy to see why the Knicks and other strong Eastern Conference teams were interested.
Konchar brings a valuable skillset to the Knicks' bench
One thing that always stood out when Konchar was in Memphis was how hard he would play every night. Konchar's ability to crash the glass while also being a strong defensive boost made him extremely valuable despite not being a super high-end offensive option off the bench. Plus, it can't be ignored that John Konchar is capable of knocking down outside shots at a decent clip too.
While the Knicks still need to boost their depth behind Karl Anthony-Towns following Mitchell Robinson's departure and Konchar doesn't exactly address that, he still gives the Knicks another quality defender and rebounder. The Knicks should continue being able to win the possession battle against most teams in the NBA.
Even though Konchar will likely be more of an end-of-bench option, his minutes should still prove to be pivotal in an Eastern Conference that suddenly looks extremely loaded heading into the season. The Knicks already have one of the stronger benches in the league, but the new John Konchar signing rounds out a solid unit.
A strong argument can also be made that the Timberwolves should have kept John Konchar over Cody Williams, but now the Knicks may have now just found themselves benefitting from a potential bargain this offseason.
The Grizzlies got many quality years from John Konchar, and now the Knicks will reap the benefits of John Konchar's skillset the Grizzlies experienced in the Next Gen Era.
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