If only they’d let him…

There’s a tepid uneasiness surrounding the Knicks these days.

It’s hard to put a finger on. There aren’t many symptoms of a broken locker room; the players seem to get along well and the camaraderie appears genuine. As Courtney Lee told the media last week unprompted, “I’m still confident in the group, man.” Remember, this is the same group that started out the season 14–10 and climbed out to the third seed in the Eastern Conference in early December. They just went toe-to-toe with the Spurs and won. The talent is still there.

But they’ve dropped 24 of their last 33 games and the losses have been trying on trust and chemistry. Making matters worse, the starting point guard went AWOL last month, the team president continues to goad his star player into wanting out, and the team owner recently accused an all-time fan favorite of alcoholism.

It’s been a comedy of errors. But perhaps the most innocuous and most costly of all errors has been head coach Jeff Hornacek’s inexplicable rotation mismanagement when it comes to Kyle O’Quinn.

Tethered to Joakim Noah’s exorbitant contract and intense personality, Hornacek has doubled down on Phil Jackson’s disastrous four-year investment from last summer and has featured Noah in the rotation over O’Quinn against better judgment.

Just a quick glance at the stats proves it clear that the Knicks are considerably more successful when O’Quinn plays prominent minutes over Noah. In fact, New York is 14–10 when O’Quinn plays 17 minutes or more but just 9–23 when O’Quinn plays 16 minutes or less.

“It’s obvious what I’m capable of doing,” O’Quinn acknowledged. “But at the same, coach is the head of the ship.”

In early December, O’Quinn saw his first semblance of starter minutes in a Knicks uniform. Over an 11 game stretch starting in late November, O’Quinn played 20.2 minutes per night (the most minutes he’s averaged over an extended stretch since signing with New York) and helped lead the Knicks to an 8–3 record. He convincingly outplayed Karl-Anthony Towns and Hassan Whiteside in the process and arguably looked like the Knicks’ best player in certain games. Since then, however, he’s been relegated to backup duty — where his confidence has stalled and his mistakes have been illuminated.

Short leashes and skepticism have curiously persisted throughout O’Quinn’s basketball career. He received just one Division I scholarship offer out of high school — to little known Norfolk State. He wasn’t a typical scouting misread; rather O’Quinn’s scouting reports seemingly went unwritten altogether. How else could you explain schools unanimously passing on a big man with obvious strength and skill?

Norfolk State’s prescience paid dividends: O’Quinn led the 15-seed to a Cinderella upset over the 2nd seeded Missouri Tigers in the NCAA Tournament in 2012. His 26 points and 14 rebounds grabbed the headlines, and his likable personality stole the show in a post game interview with Craig Sager.

Fast-forward five years and the NBA hasn’t been nearly as smooth of an upward climb for O’Quinn. For every step forward he makes as a player, personnel changes and decisions out of his control seem to knock him two steps back. He’s a fiery personality and is willing to speak out when he feels misused. Even still, by all accounts, O’Quinn is a good teammate and has his heart in the right place.

“It’s just basketball,” O’Quinn explained. “Basketball is a game of changes — a game of runs. I think my [confidence] comes from when I’m on the floor. When I’m off the floor I can’t do much. As far as my playing time goes, you would have to ask Coach Hornacek. You know, I have no control over that. But I’m a 100-percent believer in believing in whatever the coach does. He’s the captain of the ship.”

Still, for whatever reason, the captain of the ship can’t seem to commit to O’Quinn long enough to let the big man steer. Which is a problem, because O’Quinn — more so than any player I’ve ever scouted — feeds on rhythm and external trust for energy and confidence. And when they’re absent, he becomes tentative and less effective.

Given the freedom to play his game in a featured role without having to look over his shoulder, O’Quinn shows all the tools of a star player. His 20.93 Player Efficiency Rating (PER) suggests he already plays with star-level efficiency. In fact, many advanced stats with more nuance than PER suggest O’Quinn should be a star in the NBA. He’s physically dominant, impressively aware, and immensely skilled. That combination is exceedingly rare and in vogue in 2017. So where’s the disconnect?