John Calipari urging Knicks to keep regressing Kevin Knox

At the NBA combine before the 2018 draft, Kentucky coach John Calipari warned reporters whichever team took small forward Kevin Knox would need to wait two seasons before reaping the benefits. Calipari said Knox was younger than even his age. Turns out Calipari was right and is imploring the Knicks not to trade the now-20-year-old. …

At the NBA combine before the 2018 draft, Kentucky coach John Calipari warned reporters whichever team took small forward Kevin Knox would need to wait two seasons before reaping the benefits.

Calipari said Knox was younger than even his age. Turns out Calipari was right and is imploring the Knicks not to trade the now-20-year-old.

Calipari’s words should have impact since Leon Rose is the new Knicks president. Calipari is repped by Rose’s former Creative Artists Agency, and the two are close.

“No one is going to work harder,’’ Calipari said in a conference call announcing he was donating meals to local families in wake of the coronavirus outbreak. “He’s one of the great kids of all time, from a great family. It’s going to take time. What you don’t want to do — and teams have done this in that league — they give up on a young, young player too soon. And now all of a sudden, the guy comes back and they look and the whole thing in New York will be, ‘Well what if we had him? We gave him away. We should have held on longer. Why did we do that?’”

After showing a lot of potential as a rookie, Knox regressed this season, not taking well to the bench. The Knicks started Marcus Morris at small forward and Knox still couldn’t get off the pine after Morris was traded at February’s deadline.

Submit questions on your favorite New York teams to be answered in an upcoming mailbag

Calipari wheeled out the excuses for Knox’s slow growth.

“He was so young,’’ Calipari told reporters. “Some guys are even younger than their chronological age, which is young. And guess what? He’s one of those. He was the (second) youngest player in that draft. And he was learning about himself. Being in that league, I’ve never heard him complain one time. How about that? That he’s accepting, ‘I’m responsible for me. I am what my stats say I am. I’m responsible. And I’ve got a ways to go.’”

Knox’s minutes lessened as the season wore on after being a starter as a rookie from December on. The Kentucky one-and-doner averaged 6.4 points, shooting 35.9 percent – 32.7 from 3. He showed some progress on defense and said during the campaign that was his focus.

“Young guys take longer to develop, especially when they’re big,’’ Calipari said. “And guys with his size and his skill, the game is going to him. In other words, if you’re long, if you’re lanky, if you’re a basketball player, if you can shoot it — shooting has become a premium in the NBA. If you can’t shoot it, it’s hard to become significant guy, or the No. 1 or No. 2 guy.”