I'm not sure why you lump O'Quinn in with Faried and Thompson. O'Quinn may not have 3-point range, but he does shoot very well from 16' - 3-point distance. He can also play back-up center, which Faried can't.
When I think midrange (aka: long two range) I think of two players: C.J. McCollum (present) and LaMarcus Aldridge (recent past). Of course, O'Quinn isn't in the same class as either, but he does have a sold long two game. 25 - 30% of his FGAs are in the 16' - 3-point range and he knocks them down at a very respectable clip.
Here's how O'Quinn's long two game compares to C.J. and Aldridge:
Kyle O'Quinn:
2015-16 - Percent of FGA by Distance 16' < 3 = .303; FG% by Distance 16' < 3 = .439
2016-17 - Percent of FGA by Distance 16' < 3 = .253; FG% by Distance 16' < 3 = .443
C.J. McCollum:
2015-16 - Percent of FGA by Distance 16' < 3 = .201; FG% by Distance 16' < 3 = .443
2016-17 - Percent of FGA by Distance 16' < 3 = ..222; FG% by Distance 16' < 3 = .465
LaMarcus Aldridge (last two seasons in POR):
2013-14 - Percent of FGA by Distance 16' < 3 = .415; FG% by Distance 16' < 3 = .442 (career best)
2014-15 - Percent of FGA by Distance 16' < 3 = .365; FG% by Distance 16' < 3 = .415 (career average = .420)
Of course, C.J. can create his own shot from anywhere on the court, that's a huge reason he is so effective and Aldridge has always made his living with the long two, but in term of shooting percentages in this range, O'Quinn compares favorably with these two midrange specialists. I don't want O'Quinn shooting the long two as much as Aldridge did, I just want him shooting it often enough to keep defenses honest.
O'Quinn is also a much better passer (15.4 AST%) than Faried (6.1 AST%) and Tristan Thompson (4.7 AST%) and a bit better than Amir Johnson (13.1 AST%). His passing, plus his midrange shooting makes him look like a good fit, on the offensive end, in Stotts' system.
O'Quinn is equivalent to Faried in rebounding (19.4 TRB%) , and better than Johnson and Thompson and twice the shot blocker (6.8 BLK%) as all three: Faried (19.8 TRB%, 2.6 BLK%), Johnson (12.6 TRB%, 3.2 BLK%) and Thompson (17.5 TRB%, 3.0 BLK%).
With Vonleh's emergence, playing next to Nurkic, I'm fine with continuing to start that pair and see how they continue to develop. I think our draft picks (if not traded) would be better spent finding a difference make at the SF position, a cheaper Crabbe replacement and a cheaper, better Leonard replacement. That leaves us with a glaring hole at back up 4 and 5, which is why I think Kyle O'Quinn is a great fit. He has the size and strength to back up Nurkic at the 5 and the midrange game and passing to play next to Nurk as a back up 4.
As an underutilized player on a cheap contract, he also seems like the classic Neil Oshey target. Like Nurkic in DEN, O'Quinn is playing behind his team's franchise player of the future and only getting about 15 minutes per game. With Jokic breaking out in DEN, Nurkic was never going to get the minutes he deserved. Likewise, with Joachim Noah signed to a ridiculous contract and Porzingas (and now Henangomez) being the future of the Knicks, O'Quinn is going underutilized in NYK.
The Knicks were supposedly shopping O'Quinn at the trade deadline. They know he's not part of their future. He could be part of ours.
BNM
