John Jenkins (SG, NYK) - Week 20 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add In 14-Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 2% of leagues

ANALYSIS: John Jenkins was taken 23rd overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, and in the years since has served as a league journeyman in limited stints with the Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards, and now the New York Knicks. The 27-year old alumnus of Vanderbilt has never truly served in a meaningful role as a professional in the NBA, in fact, his career-averages through 152 games (in which he was a member of only eight staring lineups) are 5.0 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in a meager 12.6 minutes per contest. However, as I have discussed on many occasions over the past few seasons, the bottom-dwelling New York Knicks have recently served as the land of opportunity for players to prove themselves as viable "diamonds in the rough".

Jenkins signed a 10-day contract with the New York Knicks and, astoundingly, was able to parlay that limited stint into a two-year minimum contract after just three games in which he accumulated 21 points (7.0 points per game), six rebounds (two rebounds per game), and three assists (one assist per game). This production mostly came throughout the bulk of the Knicks' games against the Cavaliers and Hawks, and while Jenkins has only been sinking 1.0 three-pointers for every 3.3 long range attempts per game for a 30% conversion rate, his recently meaningful games in the New York back court paired with his multi-year  extension bodes well for his use moving forward. Though the roster is stacked with young guards and athletes looking to make a name for themselves, John Jenkins's recent scoring and immediate floor-time for the New York Knicks alongside such young prospects as Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, and Allonzo Trier projects positively for the remainder of the season as an asset of covert value in deeper leagues.