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As a result of Duke's loss to Michigan State in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament this past weekend, Zion Williamson's collegiate basketball career is almost surely over, as he is the consensus No. 1 overall prospect heading into June's NBA Draft.
There are four teams that are most likely to land the No. 1 overall pick: the Phoenix Suns, the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks.
For now, let's focus on the Knicks.
Let's say New York ends up winning the draft lottery and lands the top draft choice for the first time since taking Patrick Ewing all the way back in 1985.
The Knicks will almost definitely take Williamson, who is considered by many to be the best prospect to come out of the draft since Anthony Davis back in 2012.
So, how would Zion fit with New York?
Well, for starters, we have absolutely no idea how the Knicks are going to look next season, and even if they draft Williamson, they might not even keep him, as he seems like prime trade bait for the aforementioned Davis.
We also don't know what is going to happen in free agency. New York is going to have enough cap room to add a couple of max free agents, with some speculating that the Knicks could land Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in July.
However, and keep in mind that this is just my opinion, I think Durant is going to end up joining Kawhi Leonard in signing with the Los Angeles Clippers, and I think Irving will then end up staying with the Boston Celtics, who may very well land Davis themselves.
So, let's just for a second assume that the Knicks don't land one of the top free agents. To be fair, I think New York will get someone (Kemba Walker maybe?), but let's just examine how Williamson would fit with this current roster.
The Knicks have a lot of young guys, but they don't really have a lot of elite young talent. With Kristaps Porzingis gone, New York's best young players come in the form of Mitchell Robinson, Allonzo Trier and Kevin Knox, the latter of whom has had a very rough rookie season.
Robinson has shown flashes of brilliance on the defensive end, and while Trier cooled off significantly after a red-hot start, he has still shown a lot of promise and looks to be a fine player moving forward.
Sure, the Knicks also have guys like Dennis Smith Jr., Frank Ntilikina, Emmanuel Mudiay and Damyean Dotson, but they are all replaceable guards and probably are not going to factor a whole lot into New York's decision-making process.
The core would essentially be Williamson, Robinson, Trier and Knox, and while there is certainly some potential there, the fit is questionable.
The main issue would come up front. Williamson figures to be a 4 while moonlighting as a small-ball 5 in the NBA, so he would be playing a lot of minutes alongside of Robinson. The problem is, neither guy can really spread the floor.
Now, of course, Williamson is just 18 years old, so he could develop a jump shot, and his mechanics are not awful.
But, as with most guys without a jumper in this day and age, his inability to currently shoot the ball at an effective rate is a concern, especially considering the fact that Robinson will likely never be anything more than a Rudy Gobert or Clint Capela type offensively.
That means the Knicks would have to load up on shooters, which is something they simply don't have right now. Plus, generally, you want at least four of your five guys on the court to be able to spread the floor, so a tandem of Williamson and Robinson can actually bog down New York's offense and make it relatively predictable.
Clearly, the Knicks are far from a finished product, as it is entirely possible that most of the guys I mentioned above will not even be on the roster next season. But right now, the Williamson fit is a bit awkward.
Naturally, we can say that Williamson will be just fine in New York based on his sheer talent and freakish athleticism alone, but in today's game, that doesn't really work anymore.
Systems are becoming more and more important as iso-ball has gone by the wayside, and organizations are building their teams to play five out for as much offensive versatility as possible.
If the Knicks end up with the No. 1 overall pick and take Williamson to keep going forward, they are going to have to rework their roster, as what they currently have simply would not work.
That's also easier said than done, as building a contender is not simple, and that is something New York has not done for two decades.
Of course, if you have the chance to nab Williamson, you take him and then figure everything out afterward, but the reason why some—myself included—are a bit bearish on Williamson's NBA future is due to his lack of a perimeter shot, something that is pretty damning in the modern era.
