Knicks · Mikal...Knox...Z. Smith...??? (page 2)
Ira wrote:This is a very interesting thread - especially what's been said about Smith. He's not as nba ready as Mikal, but may end up being the better player.
If he was 6'4"/6'5" without shoes I might have done a "The Case For..." thread, but he is 6'2.5" w/o shoes. The DraftNet review below calls him a "swingman," but I doubt if he can play the 3 in the NBA.
I just see him as a more intriguing player than some do...the type of guy you want on your side in a big game.
Watched a number of videos where he really moved well without the ball, the type of stuff you see on GS.
He is also a tenacious defender, who could probably guard a PG, or maybe a 3 against a small lineup.
Not sure he played to his ability in terms of taking over in certain moments, but that might be more out of respect for veterans on his team than anything else.
Would like to see how his jumper is developing.
Have never been one who was excited about athletic ability, but he is the best athlete in the draft, from what I have heard. As I mentioned at one point above...I'm one who also missed seeing the potential Donovan Mitchell had, and I believe this guy is the same kind of player. His freshman stats were equal to or superior to Mitchell's by the way.
Don't think there is any chance we take him...but much of the draft is about speculation, anyway, and I think Smith will eventually be a winner in the NBA.
Strengths: Has an underrated feel for the game … High basketball IQ … Versatile swingman … Exceptional athleticism and bounce … 45-inch vertical … Has great leaping ability off of two feet … Quick feet … Possesses a combination of fluidity and explosiveness … Powerful build … Excellent length for his size (6’9’ wingspan) ... Plays with high energy … Developing jumper … Knows how to read the floor and makes smart passes … Passes up good looks for great ones … Has quick decision-making ability, especially in transition as he finds his teammates … Great cutter and finisher at the rim … Active as an off-ball screener … Looks for different ways to get his teammates open … Shows great awareness in traffic/in the paint … Doesn’t look to force tough shots over bigger defenders … Makes good use of up-fakes to creates shots for himself and his teammates … Gets after it on the defensive end on and off the ball … Displays great defensive instincts and effort … Good shot blocker for a wing player … Can guard multiple positions 1-4 at college level … Shows tenacity in fighting through screens … Great offensive rebounder … A constant threat for putbacks … Has knack for being the right position to make plays on both ends of the floor … His athleticism allows him to cover ground quickly, which makes him a threat to block shots from the weak side … Leaves shooters little to no airspace … His length (and hops) is a huge problem for the opposition when he’s contesting shots … Has great anticipation as a shot blocker … Has a knack for chase-down blocks are routine for him … Has a promising shooting form with touch ...
WaltLongmire wrote:Just saw this on another thread...had not seen it before...Not a good look for Mr. Knox, if you are looking at him to play at the 3.
Yeah, whenever I get intrigued by him I watch that video and recoil in horror- his dribble at the start is as bad as mine!
WaltLongmire wrote:Just saw this on another thread...had not seen it before...Not a good look for Mr. Knox, if you are looking at him to play at the 3.
I'n missing something. This guy is 6'9", 18 years old and has played one season. He's going to grow more, has decent shooting ability, and his handle can be improved. What's missing?
smackeddog wrote:WaltLongmire wrote:Just saw this on another thread...had not seen it before...Not a good look for Mr. Knox, if you are looking at him to play at the 3.Yeah, whenever I get intrigued by him I watch that video and recoil in horror- his dribble at the start is as bad as mine!
I don't like Knox's game. He's young and can still be molded possibly but we can do better at #9.
newyorker4ever wrote:Anyone who's a Mikal Bridges fan who is worried about Knox and his stats in his rookie season needs to look at Mikal's stats from his rookie season. They weren't all that great but the kid got better. I'm not trying to push for drafting Knox cause i also have other guys ranked above him for our pick at #9 but before the season started almost everyone was all about us drafting Knox but after him not playing as well as everyone thought he would everyone went cold on him, and he still played pretty good and he's only 18 years old.
I agree. The questions about motor and focus are typical concerns for an 18 year old. That said, I still like both Bridges over him.
Sangfroid wrote:WaltLongmire wrote:Just saw this on another thread...had not seen it before...Not a good look for Mr. Knox, if you are looking at him to play at the 3.I'n missing something. This guy is 6'9", 18 years old and has played one season. He's going to grow more, has decent shooting ability, and his handle can be improved. What's missing?
Heck...I put him out there as a possible pick in this thread...Very loose handle in this video...In the draft thread I mentioned that maybe they were just having him do things he's not done before in the video. He doesn't seem to be a fancy ball handler, which is fine with me, but if he wants to be a SF he has to have a solid handle, no?
I trust our team to have scouted him and work him out the right way.
WaltLongmire wrote:Don't think there is any chance we take him...but much of the draft is about speculation, anyway, and I think Smith will eventually be a winner in the NBA.
To get some kind of actual value out of the 9th pick, IF and this is for the sake of discussion and theory, IF the Knicks felt Knox and/or Smith were the best player(s) in this draft, they'd be better off trying to trade down from 9. Is a trade like that going to be there? Hard to say.
Taking Knox or Smith at 9 would likely be a poor use of the draft slot ( this is independent on if the player or players will actually pan out or not)
It would be like the Jets having the 20th pick in this years NFL Draft and selecting a free safety. That pick might end up being a great player, but the draft slot is simply worth more at other critical positions ( QB, LT, DL, NT, CB, etc)
My guess is Mikal Bridges moves with the 5th or 6th pick. I don't think he falls to 9th.
TripleThreat wrote:WaltLongmire wrote:Don't think there is any chance we take him...but much of the draft is about speculation, anyway, and I think Smith will eventually be a winner in the NBA.
To get some kind of actual value out of the 9th pick, IF and this is for the sake of discussion and theory, IF the Knicks felt Knox and/or Smith were the best player(s) in this draft, they'd be better off trying to trade down from 9. Is a trade like that going to be there? Hard to say.Taking Knox or Smith at 9 would likely be a poor use of the draft slot ( this is independent on if the player or players will actually pan out or not)
It would be like the Jets having the 20th pick in this years NFL Draft and selecting a free safety. That pick might end up being a great player, but the draft slot is simply worth more at other critical positions ( QB, LT, DL, NT, CB, etc)
My guess is Mikal Bridges moves with the 5th or 6th pick. I don't think he falls to 9th.
If Mikal is picked earlier....then somebody in the top 8 will fall to us. I'm ok with that....Porter / young.
TripleThreat wrote:WaltLongmire wrote:Don't think there is any chance we take him...but much of the draft is about speculation, anyway, and I think Smith will eventually be a winner in the NBA.
To get some kind of actual value out of the 9th pick, IF and this is for the sake of discussion and theory, IF the Knicks felt Knox and/or Smith were the best player(s) in this draft, they'd be better off trying to trade down from 9. Is a trade like that going to be there? Hard to say.Taking Knox or Smith at 9 would likely be a poor use of the draft slot ( this is independent on if the player or players will actually pan out or not)
It would be like the Jets having the 20th pick in this years NFL Draft and selecting a free safety. That pick might end up being a great player, but the draft slot is simply worth more at other critical positions ( QB, LT, DL, NT, CB, etc)
My guess is Mikal Bridges moves with the 5th or 6th pick. I don't think he falls to 9th.
For the sake of argument...& I've speculated that Smith could be the Donovan Mitchell of this draft (Any anecdotal reports on his team workouts...are we even going to work out, Smith?),if he is this drafts sleeper, and we were to take him at 9, how would that be a reach?
Again, I don't even know if the Knicks are interested in Smith or Knox at #9, but if they see things in either of those guys that we don't see, I don't see either of them being a reach until we know what kind of players they eventually turn out to be in the NBA.
You trade down knowing that the player will be there when you pick, and depending on who your partner is, you don't know if that player will be there.
And if you take a Smith or Knox at #9, and they "pan out," of course they are worth the use of the draft slot, because, as you say yourself
IF and this is for the sake of discussion and theory, IF the Knicks felt Knox and/or Smith were the best player(s) in this draft, they'd be better off trying to trade down from 9. Is a trade like that going to be there? Hard to say.
You have no idea how other teams value this or that player...so trading back can be tricky without the right partner, and you can also be manipulated by another team if they discover who you are really interested in
Look at what Philly did with Orlando a few years ago when they knew the Magic were in love with Payton.
June 26, 2014: Traded by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Orlando Magic for Dario Saric, a 2015 2nd round draft pick (Willy Hernangomez was later selected) and a 2017 1st round draft pick (De'Aaron Fox was later selected).
If you like a player, and you don't think you can trade back for them, or you don't want to risk not getting them, you take the player, IMO.
Value is a crap shoot...and you always do redrafts a few years down the line.
I understand where you are coming from, but what you or I consider to be the value of a certain player in the draft is changing as we speak...who knows what the actual GM/Scouting team ranking of players will be in 2 weeks?
We really are doing our due diligence...
Had wondered whether or not we were going to look at him...Now we know.
CrushAlot wrote:Deanondraft has a very positive write up on Smith. He sees him as a top ten pick.
The players available for the second half of the lottery seem decent.
He definitely has a different way of looking at players in the draft than most draft prognosticators...
I'd have no issues if we ended up with one of
Carter
Mikal
Smith
I also liked the highlights I saw of Huerter, the kid Briggs did a thread on, who is a full TWO years younger than Mikal. I had seen him in a video shooting threes before I saw Briggs' post, but had not looked at game videos of him. Not sure if we are working him out, but we should, because he has an intriguing all around skill set. Your Dean fellow even seems to like him more than Mikal.
. Zhaire SmithZhaire Smith came out of nowhere as a 3* recruit to have a monster freshman season and lead Texas Tech to their first elite 8 ever. The most shocking part of him flying under the radar is that he is a nuclear athlete, which rarely gets overlooked. But Zhaire was young for his class and raw offensively, and went unnoticed until late in his high school career.
He was still raw offensively for Texas Tech, playing a low usage role where he rarely attacked off the dribble and attempted a low volume of 3’s. But he was highly efficient in this role, as he posted an excellent eFG% and assist:TOV with 72% FT to give hope for his long term shooting ability. He statistically profiles as similar to Jae Crowder.
In terms of recruiting rank and physical profile, he is similar to Russell Westbrook. Westbrook also slid through the cracks as a 3* recruit due to being young and raw, and Zhaire is arguably the most explosive athlete in the draft since Russ. Westbrook carried a higher NCAA usage, but even after his sophomore year DraftExpress believed he had a poor handle.
It’s not clear how Zhaire’s handle compares to Russ at the same age, but there is no evidence it is drastically worse. What is clear is that Zhaire is more selective about the occasions on which he attacks and is much less mistake prone offensively. So he will likely not stretch his usage to a monster rate a la Westbrook, but there is plenty of potential for him to stretch his usage while also having the instincts to play efficiently.
It’s hard to envision exactly what Zhaire’s NBA role will look like. He could remain a Crowder-ish role player, or his athleticism could enable him to develop into a star scorer in spite of his current limits as a ball handler. But it’s so rare for a player with his combination of youth, efficient production, and athleticism to be anything other than a #1 pick, it’s not worth sweating this point. Once the tanking prizes are all off the board, I believe it is correct to take Zhaire and see what happens.