3.6 million US dollars per year! Average 15.9 points! Congratulations to the Knicks, will the Lakers old player become the substitute surprise in the new season?

Season 24-25, the Nuggets led the league with an average of 94.4 points per game, and then the Knicks averaged 94.0 points per game. It is worth mentioning that the season's championship Thunder ranked 6th with an average of 85.4 points per game.

However, in the team's substitute scoring list, the Knicks averaged 21.7 points per game, and the Nuggets averaged 26.4 points per game, fourth from the bottom. As for the Thunder, they ranked 18th in the league with averaging 35.1 points per game. Obviously, the Oklahoman's final victory is the relatively balanced starting and substitute firepower.

Speaking of this, the Knicks management and Bridges reached a four-year, $150 million contract renewal this summer. As a result, the Knicks' total salary for starting contracts in the new season is as high as US$740 million, which is a new record in the NBA. Specifically: Bridges' $175 million in five years, Towns' $171 million in three years, Anunobi's $176 million in four years, Brunson's $157 million in four years, and Hart's $63 million in three years.

With such a large investment, it is obvious that the Knicks have only one goal: to win the championship. As I said just now, there is no problem with starting but there is a big problem with substitute firepower. The good thing is that according to the NBA China official website, after reaching a buyout with the Jazz, the Knicks signed Jordan Clarkson for $3.6 million in one year. Clarkson made 37 appearances in the 24-25 season, 28 of which came on as a substitute. He averaged 15.9 points per game, as shown in the figure below, can rank 10th among substitutes, but if the number of appearances is limited to no less than 20 games, it is second only to George and Hunter.

For Clarkson, I think he will be the surprise of the Knicks' substitute in the new season.

Reason 1: Positioning. Since entering the NBA in 2014, except for the starting rate of more than 50% (51%) during the Lakers, the starting rate of all Cavaliers and Jazz periods has been below 30%. In other words, positioning is a substitute player or the sixth player in the team.

Reason 2: That is, combat power. First of all, he has made 753 appearances so far in his career, of which only 231 are starting. Secondly, he averaged 16.0 points per game. Regarding the latter point, the 20-21 season was ranked No. 6 of the Year with 18.4 points per game, and the 21-22 season was second only to Taylor Sheelow, Kevin Love and Cameron Johnson in the Best Sixth Man selection with 16.0 points per game.

In other words, he has been playing as a substitute so far in his career and has good combat power, and has been recognized by the league.

Reason 3: Competitiveness. First of all, even if the team coach is replaced by Thibodeau to Mike Brown, the starting points of Towns, Anunobi, Anunobi, Hart and Brunson will not change. Therefore, there is a gap between the remaining players, whether it is Payne, McBride, Shamet, etc., regardless of card appearance or instant combat power.

In other words, Clarkson is still the sixth man in the new season. Invisible opportunities and ball rights are guaranteed, and this promotes the second point, namely combat power.

To sum up the above three points, we can understand the "Shocks" as:

From the perspective of the player, clear positioning, opportunity and ball rights can promote Clarkson to form a good combat power.

From the team's perspective, Clarkson has the ability to fight and has an advantage over other substitutes and is willing to give more opportunities.

Therefore, as long as Clarkson, the old Lakers player, does not experience major injuries in the new season, it will greatly improve the Knicks' substitute firepower. At least there will be no more scenes at the bottom of the league in the 24-25 seasons.