Chandler wrote:there's an opportunity cost. every minute he gets with first or second team is a minute that someone else doesn't
Yes and No at the same time.
When the talent deficit is so extreme at one position, sometimes you just need warm bodies.
A lot of people were upset Dotson and Frank N weren't pulling more minutes last season. You can't run rookies into the ground. The transition from a college game schedule to a NBA game schedule is dramatically different. If the Knicks could do better than Jarrett Jack, they would have. But they couldn't. They were hoping Ron Baker would pan out, he did not.
Payton would be an interesting minimum contract signing. You can take a look and if it doesn't work out, you let him go. Some of this will depend on what happens in free agency. If the Knicks can get some other bargains, Payton might look like a pass. But maybe he's a take otherwise. It's gonna take a little time to shake out.
But the advantage is still the pathway to playing time. In that regard the Knicks actually might have an advantage if they do want Payton