Some thoughts on Lou Amundson and the Knicks’ full (but not complete) roster

Monday afternoon the Knicks re-signed veteran Lou Amundson, bringing their total of guaranteed contracts to 15. The roster is currently full, but i wouldn’t call it complete. Let’s talk about this latest signing, shall we?

The writing was on the wall.

I guess we should have seen this coming two weeks ago when it was reported that the Knicks had tried and failed to re-sign Kevin Seraphin. The news came from Marc Berman, a dude usually plugged into the organization’s feelings, who also stressed that the Knicks were “thin on experience at backup center behind Joakim Noah.” The front office obliviously agreed.

I like Lou — really, I do. I like his scrappy on-court play and his overall professionalism. But Kyle O’Quinn has played nearly 1,000 more minutes than him over the last four years, so the “experience” thing is a bit of a stretch. Is O’Quinn reliable? Probably not. But surely some combination of O’Quinn, Porzingis, Hernangomez, Ndour and Plumlee can surpass what Amundson would provide.

Phil Jackson’s views on the point guard position are confusing.

After years of insisting that the Triangle de-emphasized the point guard spot, Phil sort of came around to the idea of having a floor general who can break down the D with his dribble. He went hard after Derrick Rose — too hard, one could argue — and made sure to nab an intriguing backup in Brandon Jennings.

And then, nothing. Most teams have three players capable of manning the point, even if their starting point guard is a pillar of health. The Knicks have two guys with major injury concerns and that’s it.

This is where the failure to re-sign Langston Galloway could loom very large. He wasn’t a pure point guard, but he could at least hold down the position for stretches, and he had experience working with the likes of Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. I’m no salary cap expert, and I’m not sure if they could have kept him, but it didn’t seems like they put THAT much effort into bringing him back. He will almost certainly be missed this season.

I’ll be rooting for Maurice Ndour.

There’s almost no chance both Ndour and Marshall Plumlee stay on the 15-man roster the entire season. Even if they survive until Opening Night, the Knicks will have to make a move as soon as either Rose or Jennings goes down with even the slightest injury.

That being the case, make mine Maurice. Neither guy is tested at the NBA level, but Ndour has a fascinating set of skills — shot-blocking, passing, outside shooting. He can play the 4 or 5, while Plumlee is pretty much permanently glued to the center position.

Who the hell knows, though? Both of these guys could be gone next week, and the Knicks could sign Mario Chalmers. It’s the Knicks, baby.