Ian Begley, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Burning Q's: Who has most to prove?

With training camp less than two weeks away, we’re examining the burning questions facing the New York Knicks.

Today’s question: Which player has the most to prove during training camp?

The Knicks are coming off of a horrific 37-win season. So you can make a strong case that each member of the organization enters training camp with something to prove.

Carmelo Anthony has to show that the can adapt to Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher's triangle offense.

Fisher has to show that he can transition from championship player to competent coach.

Jackson has to show that he can weather the maelstrom of the NBA season as team president.

But certain members of the organization -- due to circumstance, past performance or their contract -- have more to prove than others.

One employee with a lot to prove entering camp is Iman Shumpert.

Around this time last year, many expected Shumpert to emerge as a consistent scorer and lock-down defender.

The 2011 first-round pick was coming off of a strong postseason, with big performances in the Knicks' series clinching win over Boston and series clinching loss to Indiana.

The next logical progression for Shumpert was to average double digits as a starter and continue to thrive as a perimeter defender.

But Shumpert entered training camp at less than 100 percent health (his surgically-repaired knee was an issue) and never seemed to get fully on track.

It's hard to know what exactly went wrong.

Shumpert suffered several nagging injuries throughout the season. He was also the subject of constant trade rumors.

And both seemed to impact his performance.

Shumpert posted career lows in points and assists per 36 minutes. His field goal and free-throw percentages were also career-lows, as was his PER, a per-minute measure of a player's performance.

Shumpert had some impressive offensive outbursts (the Texas trip in early January comes to mind). But he struggled to produce consistently. There were 19 games in which Shumpert played at least 25 minutes but scored fewer than six points.

One thing to note, though: Shumpert continued to defend at an elite level last season, at least according to one metric. Shumpert's defensive real plus-minus, which measures his impact through the prism of points allowed per 100 defensive possessions, was quite strong -- he ranked first among shooting guards who played at least 25 minutes per game (and fourth among all shooting guards).

Maybe this was one reason why Jackson made a point to praise Shumpert's defensive energy several times over the spring and summer.

But Jackson's praise may have served a duel purpose.

The Knicks continued to explore opportunities to trade Shumpert over the summer, according to league sources, so Jackson may have been trying to improve the league-wide perception of his player.

Still, we think Shumpert has an opportunity to make a strong impact this season in the triangle. Tall guards such as Ron Harper have thrived in the offense. Can Shumpert fill the same role?

Answers to that question will start to emerge during training camp and the preseason.

For what it's worth, Shumpert said a few weeks ago that he was looking forward to playing in the triangle because of the player and ball movement it engenders. He pointed out that it would be a better approach than last year, when he found himself "standing in the corner" in Mike Woodson's isolation-heavy offense.

Shumpert also said that he felt increased strength and comfort in his left leg -- the same leg that was surgically-repaired at the end of his rookie season.

But he didn't want to offer any predictions about how he would fare in the triangle. When asked if he thought he would thrive in the offense, Shumpert said only, "We'll find out."

We sure will. And the process will start in a couple weeks, in what could be a pivotal training camp for Iman Shumpert.

Question: Which Knick do you think has the most to prove in training camp? Iman Shumpert? J.R. Smith? Someone else?

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