ORLANDO, Fla. _ When Knicks coach David Fizdale put all three of his rookies in the starting lineup Friday he made a statement. And then a stronger one when, with the game on the line, he inserted all three with the game on the line, admitting he wanted to test the trio under fire.
But the bigger test might be how Fizdale can manage the veterans on the roster. Enes Kanter, left on the bench as the New Orleans Pelicans dominated the Knicks' young frontcourt that night to turn the game, left the locker room quickly with no comment night, then went, as he often does to social media. He tweeted out just a line of periods and asked about it Sunday morning, he didn't reveal the meaning but said with a smile, "It's only going to grow bigger."
Kanter may be the most pressing case, a player who has established himself as much of a star as there is on this lottery-bound development project. He is a free agent at season's end after opting in to the final season of his contract over the summer, and while his minutes and numbers have for the most part remained steady, he was pulled from the starting lineup after five games in favor of Mitchell Robinson. And on nights like Friday when he played just 15 minutes, there was clear frustration.
Asked about it Sunday morning he said, "Next question please. You already know these answers. I don't know why you're asking me." And then when asked if he had talked with Fizdale recently about his role, he said, "Nope. Nothing. Nothing. Zero."
Knicks general manager Scott Perry sat down for a heart-to-heart talk with Kanter, but he is not the only player in this situation. Mario Hezonja didn't play at all Friday and Trey Burke, who started the first five games and came off the bench to score 24 points Friday, had not played at all in three of the four prior games. All three, along with Noah Vonleh and Emmanuel Mudiay, are free agents at season's end.
"I try to balance it," Fizdale said. "That's the tough decisions you got to make. But we know ultimately this season the biggest most important thing we do is development. You can't put anything above that. I try to have empathy for my veterans and make sure them ample time to get out there and produce and help out team and also for them. I take it to heart. They're playing for their livelihood, their contracts. That means a lot to me. I understand that. I try to keep a good balance where I keep that in mind and I try to put them in position where they can still achieve to get a good contract."
The Knicks have made it clear what the intent of this season is and the goal became more crystallized when the rookies all were put together in the starting lineup for the first time Friday. The team is willing to absorb the losses _ and inherit another lottery pick _ while waiting for Kristaps Porzingis to heal from his torn ACL and chasing free-agent stars in the summer.
But that doesn't make it easier for the veterans who are seeing themselves placed in the background.
"I think what they're seeing with me, I do live up to what I say," Fizdale said. "I do give every guy a chance. You're never out of the rotation. I hope my actions will speak more to them than anything else. The hard part for them is the noise outside, what you guys might write, what a friend may say or an agent may say, all that stuff.
"But this group, we've got a pretty resilient, tough group that's really focused on getting better. And I think they understand that I'm always going to be trying to put them in a position of success and they're never out of the rotation with me. I'll always come back to them. I don't have the luxury and I ain't the type of coach to bury a guy. ... So that's kind of how I'm looking at the team. I do try to respect all of the guys and the situation that they're in, but our No. 1 priority, I can't put anything above it, is our player development."
