Knight

["Ronald H. Evans" <ronald_evans@pipeline.com>]

I watched Knight on video today and it did a lot to dispel my worries.
Although I doubt he will be a star during his tenure on the celtics, he
displayed a very well rounded game. Specifically a few aspects of his
overall abilities impressed me, his offense, his intelligence and his
defense. On offense he provides a lot of the little things that really help
a team. 

Offense:Although he doesn't have a post up game(that I've seen), he is
extremely careful in his shot selection. He works the pick and roll well,
setting a solid pick and then crashing the boards for a layup or offensive
tip. He has a good mid-range(~15ft) jumper, either spot up or off one
dribble. He takes the ball strong to the hole when he has an open lane. And
best of all he is a good offensive rebounder. He is intelligent going for an
offensive board--he rarely jumps at the first opportunity, instead following
the path of the ball and snaring it without jumping.  

Defense:He is a good positional defender but a poor to mediocre shot
blocker. He bodies out well--staying behind his man on the post and using
his body rather than his forearm to keep his man in front of him. I like
that for two reasons: It gives him a lower center of gravity(good against
behemoths)  and makes it hard to spin around him(an opponent may trip over
his legs because he's closer). He doesn't get up high when trying to block a
shot, but that isn't much of a negative because he doesn't attempt a swat
until his man is in the air. On the perimeter he showed nice hands, coming
up with more strips than hacks--he was good at pulling away when an opponent
tried to initiate contact.

His other skills didn't impress me too much. He seemed a competent but not
impressive passer. He wasn't a ball hog and he faked well but his passes
were a little on the slow side and might be a target for deflection. I
thought he was overrated running the floor--only average.
        His body, on the other hand, did. It was extremely undeveloped.
While he had visible muscle, it had the undefined chubby look of someone who
hasn't weight trained consistently. I think he has a good chance to bulk up
to at least  250lbs. 
        At ~2mil he is a steal. He should be an extremely good complementary
player, accepting his role on the team and making a genuine effort to help
the team win rather than padding his own stats. Compared to what players of
his caliber will be making in three years, he will be woefully underpaid.
Even this year, players like Terry Mills, Dennis Scott and Lindsey Hunter
think they deserve ~5mil a year. Knight should contribute more than they
would(although he will be celebrated less) next year.