Brandon Jennings to Knicks: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction
Brandon Jennings will get a fresh start with the New York Knicks. The Knicks announced the deal on Friday.
ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported the two sides were nearing an agreement on a deal on July 4. Shortly after Stein's report, Jennings sent out these tweets:
According to CSN Chicago's Vincent Goodwill, Jennings will sign a one-year, $5 million contract.
Jennings is one of the more intriguing free agents in this year's class. In 2014-15, he was arguably playing the best basketball of his career with the Detroit Pistons. Then came the ruptured Achilles in January 2015 that ended his season and kept him out for a big chunk of the 2015-16 campaign.
By the time Jennings returned, Reggie Jackson was the unquestioned starting point guard for the Pistons. Detroit traded Jennings to the Magic in February as part of the Tobias Harris deal, but a change of scenery did little to turn Jennings' fortunes around on the court.
The 26-year-old missed 34 games and played 18.1 minutes per night, so his per-game numbers suffered in a big way. Still, he averaged a career-low 13.8 points per 36 minutes, and his .368 shooting percentage was the worst of his career as well.
In March, Jennings said he was still feeling the effects of his injury, per MLive.com's Aaron McMann: "It's still taking a while. Still trying to adjust to thing. I had a couple good games here and there, bad ones here and there. Just trying to find that balance."
There's reason to hope Jennings can get back to where he was before the Achilles injury. He's relatively young, and having the benefit of a full offseason to prepare for next year should help him as well.
It's rare, however, for a basketball player to suffer an Achilles injury and make a full recovery. Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was never the same after his Achilles tear in 2013. Of course, Bryant was much older (34). Wesley Matthews was a little closer in age (28) after his Achilles rupture in March 2015 as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, and his performance declined with the Dallas Mavericks in his first season back in 2015-16.
For Jennings, the concern is somewhat heightened since he handles the ball so much.
During his strong 2014-15 season, Jennings averaged 5.61 seconds per touch, which was highest among players who appeared in at least 40 games, per NBA.com. He was also second in average dribbles per touch (6.22).
Both figures fell somewhat in 2015-16, which didn't correlate with increased offensive efficiency. Jennings averaged 5.12 seconds per touch and 5.63 dribbles per touch but just 0.151 points per touch compared to 0.207 points per touch in 2013-14, per NBA.com.
Perhaps it was just rust, or it could have been a result of the Achilles injury. No matter the reason, Jennings was a much worse shooter when he held onto the ball for a long period of time, per NBA.com's player-tracking data:
| Dribbles | |||||||
| 0 Dribbles | 26.7% | 0.7 | 1.7 | 39.5% | 57.4% | 23.1% | 41.4% |
| 1 Dribble | 10.2% | 0.3 | 0.7 | 41.9% | 46.8% | 5.0% | 20.0% |
| 2 Dribbles | 7.3% | 0.3 | 0.5 | 54.5% | 59.1% | 2.0% | 33.3% |
| 3-6 Dribbles | 23.4% | 0.5 | 1.5 | 36.6% | 41.5% | 9.2% | 25.0% |
| 7-plus Dribbles | 32.3% | 0.6 | 2.0 | 29.6% | 34.7% | 11.9% | 27.8% |
| Touch | |||||||
| Touch < 2 Sec. | 38.6% | 1.0 | 2.4 | 40.2% | 53.4% | 28.1% | 36.5% |
| Touch 2-6 Sec. | 30.7% | 0.8 | 1.9 | 40.9% | 47.8% | 12.9% | 33.3% |
| Touch 6-plus Sec. | 30.7% | 0.6 | 1.9 | 29.0% | 32.8% | 10.2% | 22.6% |
Here's how his numbers from 2014-15 compare:
| Dribbles | |||||||
| 0 Dribbles | 21.5% | 1.4 | 2.8 | 49.1% | 62.1% | 13.9% | 40.0% |
| 1 Dribble | 7.6% | 0.3 | 1.0 | 31.7% | 36.6% | 2.6% | 28.6% |
| 2 Dribbles | 6.7% | 0.3 | 0.9 | 38.9% | 43.1% | 2.4% | 23.1% |
| 3-6 Dribbles | 25.0% | 1.3 | 3.3 | 38.5% | 45.2% | 9.4% | 35.3% |
| 7-plus Dribbles | 39.3% | 2.0 | 5.2 | 38.7% | 43.6% | 10.7% | 36.2% |
| Touches | |||||||
| Touch < 2 Sec. | 26.5% | 1.6 | 3.5 | 46.9% | 58.4% | 15.6% | 39.3% |
| Touch 2-6 Sec. | 35.6% | 1.8 | 4.7 | 39.1% | 45.6% | 12.8% | 36.2% |
| Touch 6-plus Sec. | 38.0% | 1.9 | 5.0 | 37.1% | 41.5% | 10.7% | 31.0% |
Becoming more of a spot-up shooter might be in Jennings' best interest, and he showed last year he'd be suited for the role. According to NBA.com, he shot 40.3 percent on catch-and-shoots, including 41.4 percent from three-point range.
Jennings remains capable of beating his man off the dribble on occasion:
In the event the Achilles injury permanently diminished his speed and agility, he'll likely be better off adjusting his game so he's not relying too heavily on his athleticism and his ability to get into the paint.
Jennings will join Derrick Rose in the Big Apple. Rose will be the Knicks' starting point guard, with Jennings coming off the bench.
The two should work well together if Jennings is able to knock down his three-point attempts. Rose shot below 30 percent from beyond the arc in each of the last two seasons. Having Jennings should prevent Rose's shooting from becoming too big of an issue for New York.
The Knicks are taking somewhat of a risk by banking on bounce-back seasons from Rose and Jennings. So long as the two can stay healthy and fulfill expectations, though, the team should be a genuine playoff contender in the Eastern Conference.
Note: Stats are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com or NBA.com unless otherwise noted.
