According to multiple sources, the New York Knicks have signed F/C Kevin Seraphin to a one year deal worth approximately $2.8M.
Seraphin’s per minute stats show him to be a good offensive rebounder (2.9 oreb/36) and mildly voluminous scorer (15.2 pts/36). Although his career ts% is poor (51.2%), 3 of his 5 seasons were over 53%, including the last two. The bulk of his shots seem to be between 3-16 feet, and he’s only attempted 3 NBA treys. His weaknesses seem to be defensive rebounding (5.9 dreb/36), turnovers (2.5 to/36), and fouls (5.2 pf/36), with the latter being consistent with bench big men who tend to rack up more than their starting brethren.
Some more red flags appear when you look at Seraphin’s +/- from last year. The Wizards were 6.9 points per 100 possessions worse with Seraphin on the floor. Now this may be due to Washington’s other big men being the defensive minded Nene and Gortat, which would distort the numbers somewhat. Yet with 6-9 Kris Humpries, the Wizards were only 2.9 points worse. The year prior, Seraphin’s defensive +/- was a neutral -0.8, so it’s unknown exactly how good (or bad) he is defensively.
Seraphin may compete with Derrick Williams at the power forward spot for the minutes left by the departed Jason Smith. A comparison of the three players:
| Player | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Seraphin | 12.9 | .491 | 0.0 | .000 | 2.0 | .712 | 2.9 | 5.1 | 8.0 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 5.2 | 14.1 |
| Jason Smith | 11.6 | .462 | 0.5 | .300 | 2.7 | .782 | 2.5 | 4.9 | 7.4 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 4.6 | 13.0 |
| Derrick Williams | 12.2 | .429 | 3.2 | .301 | 5.0 | .703 | 1.6 | 5.3 | 6.9 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 15.0 |
Williams has an edge by being a diverse scorer with the ability to stretch the defense with his three point shot, and earning a lot more free throws. He also fouls at a much lower rate. Seraphin is superior with rebounding and blocked shots. They have similar true shooting percentages, with both players having higher rates in recent years.
Both are flawed players, and it’s possible they’ll be in competition for minutes this year. The Knicks don’t really have many options at small forward other than Carmelo Anthony (Cleanthony Early, Lance Thomas), so it’s possible that ‘Melo will see most of his time at the 3. Center will likely be manned by Lopez, O’Quinn and Amundson, which will leave fewer minutes at forward for them. Porzingis may not see a lot of minutes at age 20. So if Fisher doesn’t give the starting job to O’Quinn, or play small with Anthony at the 4, then it’s possible one of these two players will start at forward for New York. And they’ll see even more minutes if Carmelo gets hurt again this year.