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Arron Afflalo is right where he wants to be: New York, wearing a Knicks jersey with his own name on the back. But which Afflalo will New York get? The sturdy, two-way role player from his early years in Denver, the slightly wobbly performer of the past few seasons, or the best Afflalo yet?

That remains to be seen, but what's clear is the Knicks and Affalo need each other. They're well-matched from a basketball standpoint, but it's more than that—they also believe in each other.

'Too Great'

“Arron Afflalo is a pro, one of the hardest working guys in the league,” Knicks head coach Derek Fisher said, relayed by a release on the team's official site. “Also, a physical guy that can guard multiple players.”

If you think that's nice, see what Afflalo had to say about the Knickerbockers.

“A franchise like the Knicks, people can say what they want, they’re not going to be down for long.’’ Afflalo told Marc Berman of the New York Post. “The city’s too great. The fanbase is too great. The opportunities are too great that over time, you’ll have a great culture, great players trickling in slowly but surely. This is a city that deserves to be at its best.”

In these bleak times, that kind of sunny optimism must warm even the coldest Knicks fan's heart.

Since they're not a likely championship contender in 2015-16 and couldn't afford to throw max contracts around like so many other teams this July, the Knicks hoped to attract a special kind of player—someone who genuinely wanted to be in New York and was wiling to be part of the system and play nice with Carmelo Anthony.

They've certainly discovered all that in Afflalo, who played with Melo between 2009 and 2011 on the Denver Nuggets. He gave Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders a list of reasons for choosing to sign with the Knicks over other teams:

It was just the fan base, the environment, the chance to play with Carmelo [Anthony] again, the chance to play with other great players, the mutual interest from the coaching staff and [front office], and the culture they’re trying to build. I just thought it was a good fit for me.

The Road Here

It could be a great fit. The Knicks need a reliable shooting guard to support Carmelo Anthony, defensive toughness, especially at the perimeter, and more veteran leadership. Afflalo can provide all those things. But will he?

He's got the skills—they just haven't been quite as locked-in recently as he's been shipped from town to town. During his initial three seasons with the Nuggets, Afflalo was an energetic force on the defensive end, and he was shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 41.8 from three-point range, piling up tidy, not enormous, stacks of points.

Yet when he moved to the Orlando Magic, his three-ball game started to slip. He got it back in 2013-14, when he was excellent on offense—18 points per game, 45.9 FG percent, 42 percent from three-point range—but he was lazy on defense. Shooters scored better on him at every inch of the court. The Magic missed the playoffs both seasons.

Afflalo began last season back in Denver, but he was shifted to the Portland Trail Blazers in February, where he was a stand-in for the injured Wes Matthews. He tightened up the D but didn't have the same touch, averaging 42.4 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from behind the arc.

Then again, that's still more efficient than most of the Knicks.

Afflalo is the sort of player who will adjust his game depending on what his team needs of him. Playing along Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge, he didn't have to be a featured scorer, but in New York, he probably will have to step into that role.



And why not? He can light it up and drop 30 in a night, drilling step-back jumpers like it's the easiest thing in the world. With the Knicks, he may have a chance to show off more, even while being second to Melo.

Afflalo has a great opportunity to win the approval of those New York fans with his energy. The effort he makes to go for rebounds, the pressure defense and his general hard-working spirit are the kinds of qualities Madison Square Garden crowds cheer for.

Afflalo's agent, Sam Goldfeder, told the New York Post, per Berman,

This is the happiest I’ve seen [Afflalo] as a professional. It’s like he was drafted again. This is where he wanted to be and feels the stars aligned for him. It’s the first time he got to choose, and that was meaningful to him. The electricity he found in the Garden was like no other place, and he wanted that environment. He’s looking to have the best season of his career.

If Afflalo's energetic style of play helps the Knicks string together some more Ws this season, he'll be rewarded with that irresistible Madison Square Garden electricity that drew him here—and maybe a contract extension.

All stats from NBA.com/stats.