NBA Season Preview 2019-20: The one reason to watch each and every team

New York Knicks: Whatever minutes the youngsters get

Look, the New York Knicks didn’t land the superstar-laden free agency haul they were hoping, wishing and praying for. They didn’t get Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard or Kemba Walker; Julius Randle was the best player they signed. Even so, they might be more competitive than people are giving them credit for.

Randle is coming off a career year and may be the team’s best player. That normally wouldn’t bode well, except New York also added serviceable veterans like Marcus Morris, Elfrid Payton, Taj Gibson, Wayne Ellington, Bobby Portis and Reggie Bullock. They’re not a playoff team, but they might not be bottom-feeders either, especially if head coach David Fizdale prioritizes his job security over long-term development.

That hasn’t appeared to be the case so far in preseason, with Randle, R.J. Barrett and Mitchell Robinson in the starting lineup as Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina and Allonzo Trier play ample minutes. To that end, Knicks fans will probably squeeze a lot more enjoyment out of those youngsters’ minutes than watching six different veteran power forwards try to compete for playing time.

From Dennis Smith Jr. and Knox to Barrett and Ntilikina, the Knicks’ youngsters have a ton to prove still. Those veteran minutes will bog down some of that progress, but hopefully they begin to fade as the losses pile up and dreams of the playoffs dissipate.