Ian Begley, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

What the numbers say about Arron Afflalo

Arron Afflalo and the New York Knicks agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal on Thursday, according to sources. Afflalo will likely start at shooting guard for the Knicks in 2015-16.

Here’s a look at what he can bring to the Knicks, by the numbers:

Good in the triangle? Afflalo is a strong midrange shooter. He hit 46.1 percent of his midrange shots last season -- the tenth-highest percentage in the league (minimum 200 attempts).

Afflalo’s field-goal percentage in the midrange was nearly seven percent higher than the league average (39.6 percent).

The midrange shot, of course, is considered one of the least valuable in basketball among many analysts. For better or for worse (worse, mostly), the Knicks relied heavily on the shot during their 17-win season.

New York ranked fourth in the NBA in field goal attempts per game between 15-19 feet last season.

If the Knicks continue this trend next season, Afflalo could benefit.

Carmelo’s second option? For most of his 4 ½ seasons in New York, Carmelo Anthony hasn’t had a consistent secondary scoring option. Recent history suggests Afflalo may fill that void.

Anthony and Afflalo were on the court together for 119 games between the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons with the Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets were +231 in 2,624 minutes with Anthony and Afflalo on court together during that span.

Afflalo seemed to thrive on the perimeter in his last season with Anthony. He shot 47.6 percent from 3-point range in 2010-11 when on the court with Anthony and 38.2 percent from beyond the arc when he wasn't on the court with him.

(He is a career 39 percent 3-point shooter.)

Coming off of a subpar season? Afflalo had a career season in 2013-14 in Orlando. He scored 18 points per game and hit 42 percent of his 3-point attempts. He struggled last season, though, scoring 13.3 points per game on 42 percent shooting.

Afflalo recorded a PER of 10.9 in 2014-15. That was the third-to-last among 107 players with at least 2,000 minutes in 2014-15 -- a troubling number for New York.

Numbers suggest that Afflalo had a tough time on defense last season. He ranked 73rd among shooting guards in defensive RPM, a measure of a players impact on team defense. In 2013-14, Afflalo ranked 65th among shooting guards. This may be problematic for a Knicks team that struggled to defend the perimeter last season.

Statistics were provided ESPN Stats & Information.

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