30-year old Larry Hughes and 25-year old Nate Robinson will likely share the shooting guard position this year for the Knicks. Hughes will likely be the starter for the Knicks. He played in 55 games for the Bulls+Knicks last season and he averaged 26.9 minutes, 11.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Hughes is a good defensive player but he doesn’t have much of a jump shot which is a problem when you are playing shooting guard. Nate Robinson played in 74 games for the Knicks last year and he averaged 29.9 minutes, 17.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He is at a height disadvantage against most shooting guards but he’s lightning quick and that sometimes makes up for it. 23-year old Toney Douglas was a first round pick out of Florida State but he won’t likely get much playing time as a rookie unless Hughes or Robinson gets injured or traded. 23-year old Joe Crawford is #4 on the depth chart for the Knicks at shooting guard. He played in 2 games for the Knicks last year and he averaged 11.5 minutes, 4.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Crawford will be sitting on the end of the bench if he makes the Knicks.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2009-2010: C

The Knicks have signed restricted free agent power forward David Lee to a 1-year, $8 million dollar contract with incentives. The 26-year old Lee played in 81 games (74 starts) for the Knicks last season and he averaged 34.9 minutes, 16.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He has now played in 287 games (129 starts) in his four years with the Knicks and he has averaged 34.9 minutes, 10.9 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. I’m surprised that no other team made Lee a formal offer as he is a player on the rise. The Knicks were really smart to bring him back.

25-year old PG/SG Nate Robinson has signed a 1-year qualifying offer worth $2.9 million bucks to remain with the Knicks. Robinson played in 74 games (11 starts) for the Knicks last season and he averaged 29.9 minutes, 17.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He has now played in 282 games (59 starts) in his four years with the Knicks and he has averaged 24.8 minutes, 12.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. In what is likely Robinson’s last season with the Knicks he will back up both Chris Duhon at the point and Larry Hughes at shooting guard.

Chris Duhon played allright in his first season as a starter in the NBA but the Knicks need him to do more. The 27-year old Duhon played in 79 games for the Knicks last season and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 11.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game. The Knicks would like it if he took more shots this season. 23-year old Gabe Pruitt would likely be Duhon’s backup if the season started today. Pruitt played in 47 games for the Celtics last season and he averaged 7.8 minutes, 2.0 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Starting SG Larry Hughes can handle the point if need be but the Knicks would be smart to bring back Nate Robinson who is a restricted free agent.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POINT GUARDS IN 2009-2010: C-

UPDATE: With the recent signing of Nate Robinson the projected grade is now a C+

The Knicks have signed 23-year old small forward Sun Yue. Yue played in 10 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Lakers last season and he averaged 2.8 minutes, 0.6 points, 0.0 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. He was essentially the last man off the bench for the Lakers so it’s unknown what kind of upside he has. The Knicks have nothing to lose in giving him a look this season.