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Keep or Cut: Kadeem Allen and Kenny Wooten

Starting off this series with the Knicks' two-way players

Alex Wolfe

Starting this week, I'll be breaking down all of the numerous player options and free-agents-to-be on the Knicks this offseason. Due to the front office's strategy of trying to keep their cap space fluid last summer (which was smart, though admittedly kind of flawed when you have a roster full of vets playing for their next contract), there are a lot of them.

In today's inaugural edition, I'll take on the Knicks' two two-way players from the 2019-20 season — Kadeem Allen and Kenny Wooten.

Kadeem Allen

Allen returned to the Knicks for 2019-20 on a second straight two-way deal, after the team signed him to a two-way contract with a second-year option in the 2018-19 season.

That was lucky for the Knicks, because Allen greatly outplayed that first two-way deal and is probably a good enough third-string point guard to sign to a regular NBA contract at this point. In 19 games with the big Knicks in 2018-19, Allen averaged 9.9 points, four assists and 2.7 rebounds on 57.4 TS% in just under 22 minutes per game.

This past season proved to be one where Allen wasn't called upon as much, but that doesn't mean he wasn't still effective. In just under 12 minutes per game in 10 contests this year, Allen put up per-36 numbers almost in line with his 2018-19 production. The only difference was his 3-point shooting, which can be written off if you consider Allen's inconsistent play time this year. 

It should perhaps be noted that Allen shot a pretty poor 26.1% from deep in Westchester this year too in a steady 29 minutes per game. That's not great, and something Allen definitely needs to build some consistency in.

Still, it's pretty undeniable that the Knicks run better with Allen out there, in a very similar way to the effect that Frank Ntilikina has on the team. Allen doesn't force things and is always looking to set up others, and he always plays tough defense.

Allen is only able to be signed as a regular contract now, since NBA CBA rules dictate that a two-way player can only have less than three years of NBA experience, and this past year was Allen's third. Allen is also 27 years old. Still, for a veteran's minimum contract, he's worth bringing back as the third-string point guard any day. He's still young in NBA service time, and even if this is as good as he'll ever get, he's plenty good enough for an NBA roster spot.

Keep or cut: Keep. Re-sign him to a one-year veteran's minimum contract, with a second-year team option if possible.

Kenny Wooten

Wooten is both the hardest player to discuss from the 2019-20 Knicks, and also arguably the easiest keep-or-cut decision on the whole roster.

He's difficult to discuss because he didn't actually play a single game for the Knicks this year. Wooten was signed to a two-way contract on Jan. 13, which got Knicks fans excited about the possibilities his Mitchell Robinson-esque defensive skillset would bring. Wooten averaged a robust 3.6 blocks per game for the Westchester Knicks, to go along with 7.7 points and 6.1 rebounds on 65.1% shooting in 25 minutes per game.

Unfortunately, Wooten suffered a thumb injury that required surgery in late February, nixing any chance of him playing for the Knicks this season even if things hadn't been postponed. Still, the Knicks signed him to a second-year option on his two-way deal just like they did with Allen last season. Bringing him back is basically a no-risk proposition, and his tantalizing athleticism and Robinson-adjacent skillset could see him develop into an ideal backup for Robinson.

Keep or cut: Keep. Just pick up his two-way option and see what he can do next season.

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Alex Wolfe
ALEX WOLFE

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