The New York Knicks enter the 2018 NBA Draft in a peculiar situation. Knowing that the team is likely to be a shell of whatever it could be next season due to the Kristaps Porzingis injury, a certain mentality can be had from Thursday night moving forward — tank season.
While no fan likes to hear about the idea of his or her favorite team giving up hope before there's reason to do so, it does make logical sense for New York to build toward the future, not inherently worrying about the right now. After all, if Porzingis is going to miss roughly half of next season, what's the point of bringing in veteran players who can help immediately?
In turn, in theory, the Knicks can let younger players develop on the roster (Hello, Frank Ntilikina and the 2018 NBA Draft pick) while positioning themselves for another run at some nifty ping-pong ball magic for the 2019 crop of prospects.
Wendell Carter Jr. – Duke Blue Devils
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJoNiWGQdXs
Strengths: Good frame (6-foot-10, 260-pounds), high basketball IQ, positive shot mechanics, solid handle relative to his size, good footwork, willing/capable of changing role on team based on need.
Flaws: Vertical movement (straight line) questionable, slower-ish release, not crafty with hand usage near the rim or an explosive finisher.
Wendell Carer Jr. has the chance to be something special. Lost in all the Marvin Bagley hoopla while at Duke was Carter's ability to be an above average player for Coach K when the offense needed to be ran through him when Bagley was out.
If you want to get hyperbolic with it, Carter can be considered the next evolution of an Al Horford-type. A big man who will play a few years, most likely not put up gaudy numbers, but be recognized as one of the better players at his position.
The idea with Carter is pretty simple. He's a legit modern day center who can stretch the floor, rebound at a decent rate and has a basketball-IQ that is off the charts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKT2lfOGV7o
There's even more to the idea of Carter than that — though, it has to be noted, as it is with most NBA Draft prospects, it's the idea of him more so than what he currently happens to be.
Carter, and Bagley for that matter, saw his defense get exposed against Boston College. The Eagles operated a wonderful pick-and-roll scheme that abused Duke's bigs to the point Coach K went to a zone and never went back. Carter was projected to be an above-average defender who can guard multiple positions heading into his freshman season, but there was little proof that.
However, he is athletic enough, specifically moving horizontally, to still project growth in that area. Couple that in with his insanely high basketball acumen, and there's reason to be giddy about his prospects at the next-level.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppz0nZQpSbc
Carter is also pegged as one of the draft prospects with the safest floor (lowest chances of busting). At worst, he's a quality starter for a good team, even if it never means he becomes some All-Star type of talent. His ceiling also happens to be higher than given credit for, as it can be argued he will actually translate better than Bagley to the NBA's current style.
Helping Carter in this process have been reports of not only being a team player, but mature beyond his years. While attributes from an on-the-court standpoint matter more than whether or not a youngster is a good person, having zero character issue red flags is certainly a net-positive.
Trae Young – Oklahoma Sooners
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoNvODOQnCs
Strengths: Quick release, ability to hit from all over, best vision from a prospect in years, nifty, incredible lateral movement.
Weaknesses: While nifty and agile there are legit questions about his athleticism, awful on defense, poor finisher at the rim (finished below college basketball average for guards), not explosive off his first step, turnover prone (high usage rates explain much of this, but while his vision is elite, Young was a sometimes inaccurate passer).
I am not as high on Trae Young as most, but there's reason for the New York Knicks to select the prolific guard if he's available with the ninth pick in the NBA Draft, and most of it has to do with weighing the risk-reward.
To put it bluntly: There's a chance Young is a bust. That he's just another guy in a long line of great college players who just couldn't translate due to a lack of size and athleticism. However, if he's slightly more athletic than given credit for, or nimble enough to offset the lack of explosiveness, his hit-rate can be as high as any player in the entire draft.
That's not to mention the idea of Young playing off the ball in spurts. While at Oklahoma, Young was the primary ball-handler for several reasons, most notably being the fact the Sooners needed him to be EVERYTHING for the team at ALL TIMES. In turn, we don't fully know how capable he is or isn't coming off screens, but if he ends up being a net-positive in that area, it can eliminate plenty of concerns about his athleticism.
For the Knicks, though, drafting Trae Young largely comes down to taking a chance. One that the franchise failed to do with Stephen Curry and Donovan Mitchell.
It would just seem too insane to witness New York's front-office yet again pass on a dynamic guard, even if the guy in question does have sincere concerns around his game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhzmZNnzCKU
Given the likely tank mode the Knicks should be in next season, and without there likely being a ton of “future franchise cornerstones” available when they pick, Young is worth the shot simply due to the reward outweighing the risk — because if Young fails, New York will realize this early, and should be able to plan for both the 2019 NBA Draft and other roster construction ahead of schedule.
Plus, if Young does struggle, other teams will still love the idea of him (think how the Kings felt about Buddy Hield). He can later be moved for other assets because front-offices love nothing more than taking on reclamation projects who came with insane hype.
Mikal Bridges – Villanova Wildcats
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye32e3EcgoQ
Strengths: Shooting mechanics a plus with creativity in angles and disbursement, high release point coupled with a great frame for a two/three hybrid, soft touch near the rim, evolving self-playmaker, ability to play several roles, defense projects to be at least average.
Flaws: Struggles in tight spaces with his handle, regressed defensively this season (of note: could be due to much larger role on offense), unlikely to be big enough to be a three/four.
Mikal Bridges is tremendous. End point. Eh, I am just kidding. He is really good, though. Moreover, he is a really safe prospect as his floor is basically the prototypical 3-and-D guy in the Modern NBA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAy72ZNiuiw
The concerns with Bridges are small. In a perfect world, he'd be an inch or two taller, capable of playing some at the four. That's not going to happen, but that is by no means any sort of write-off to him being a stellar player at the next-level.
In fact, while his floor is what makes him attractive, it is easy to talk yourself into Bridges becoming far more than that. Since his shooting mechanics are already there, as well as being an above-average athlete, he can create insane mismatches while playing the two in the NBA all while of being able to hold his own against most small forwards.
Outside of that, people are worried about him due to his (advanced) age. While 21 (will be 22 by the start of the season) isn't actually old, people have a hard time talking about potential in terms of anything other than youth. People should stop doing that, as age doesn't equate potential. Instead, it is a combination of seeing how a player is or isn't able to improve over a passage of time coupled with finding out what that player is strong/weak in and if those areas can still be improved upon. Bridges can still improve in every single area of his game… age be damned.
Lonnie Walker – Miami Hurricanes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzZPS4xXzXk
Strengths: Good leaper off two feet/above average off one, solid — though not great — first step, good body control that aids in his ability to slash and finish, good lateral movement, projects to be a net-average in nearly every single skill set category.
Flaws: While shooting mechanics are solid his release is a bit lower and slow, seems incapable of predicting ahead in passing situations, ball-handling is suspect (if only due to the palming nature of his handle), ceiling as a defender is ‘only' average.
Is Lonnie Walker at nine a reach? You bet your sweet sassy molassy, but he's not Collin Sexton and that should be enough.
Sexton is mentioned because he's often mentioned within New York's realm, but is about the worst option for the team at nine, at least in my opinion. Instead of him, I offer Walker, who is not perfect, but has pretty remarkable upside coupled with at worse being a solid rotational talent.
Walker is athletic, though there are questions about how much functionality it has at the next-level. There's also huge concerns about his shooting despite putting up solid numbers in college (it's all about his release). If — and, admittedly, this is a huge IF — the athleticism translates and the mechanics, which are there in a positive way, improve, he can be a steal in the 2018 NBA Draft.
While not a sexy pick, depending on who goes before the Knicks select on Thursday night, Walker might be the guy worth taking a flyer on if guys like Carter, Bridges and Young are already off the board.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Kentucky Wildcats
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csucEH4NG6Q
Strengths: Not Kevin Knox, elite size for a guard (6-foot-6, 7-foot wingspan), great body control, positive shooting diversity, solid shooting mechanics (projects to improve from beyond the arc), above-average off-the-ball defender in college, good IQ.
Flaws: If teams plan on playing him at the three at all his wiry frame will be an issue, appears to be a momentum-based shooter, turnovers, not a great penetrator despite having good body control, almost no first step.
Kevin Knox is the more commonly accepted Kentucky talent to be headed to New York, but I'd argue the Knicks should instead go after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander if they covet someone from Big Blue Nation.
This is a similar idea to Trae Young or Lonnie Walker, though much closer to the Walker-level of upside.
Alexander appears built to be the modern two-guard. He's got the measurables, the shooting and a solid enough handle. The issue for him here, however, is that he's an insanely hard player to scout given him playing under John Calipari's system of unselfishness.
Basically, you can talk yourself into or out of Alexander very easily. He's either some underrated gem or yet another overhyped Kentucky prospect. It all depends on what areas of his game you look at the most and if you want to hold Kentucky's lack of dominance last season against him.
I don't/won't. I just like him (and Walker for that matter) more than Sexton and Knox, the two more likely to actually land with the Knicks.
Follow Us
Subscribe