“With the eighth pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks select…”
November 18 is the next date circled on the calendar for Knicks fans as the 2020 NBA Draft is scheduled for that Wednesday. With about a month left until the draft, there is still cloudiness over who the Knicks may select with their lottery pick.
However, some have felt that North Carolina point guard Cole Anthony has dropped on the draft board.
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, Cole, the son of the ex-Knick Greg Anthony, won’t be selected by the Knicks at pick number eight.
“The Knicks are leaning against taking the Manhattan point guard with the No. 8 pick, or even if they trade down into the 14-15-range, according to an industry source,” Berman said in an article posted online.
Photo: —Berman also adds that there will be no homecoming for Anthony unless the Nets pick him up at 19.
The Knicks however are interested in Anthony if he is still available at No. 27.
“I’m not a big fan,” an NBA executive said. “I could see him late first round, even early second round. There’s limited creativity to his game and he has a slippery handle. He’s a very average playmaker and relies too much on shooting long 3’s. He’s more a 2 in our league but with limited size.”
The Knicks went into their draft prospect scouting eyeing the scoring point guard this team has lacked for years. But after LaMelo Ball, Knicks president Leon Rose and his group feel like there is a steep drop in talent.
France’s Killian Hayes, Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton and Kentucky’s Tyrese Maxey are reportedly still on the Knicks’ radar.
“Sometimes you hear the selfish, shoot-first guy, I shake my head again considering what he did at Oak Hill,” said Anthony’s trainer and former Knicks developmental coordinator Chris Brickley of Anthony’s criticism. “As far making other players better, I’ll bet the money in my bank account that — just as he ended the regular season as a top freshman scoring guard, he’d have liked to end the season as No. 1 assist guy. He really is a willing passer.”
In his lone season in Chapel Hill, Anthony averaged 18.5 PPG, shooting 38% from the field. The Tar Heels finished with a subpar 14-19 record in this pandemic-shortened season.
Berman states that a source says the lack of an NCAA Tournament and regular live draft combine/in-person interviews may even help a club like the Knicks. The draft research could be less efficient, leaving perhaps one of the best players to fall to No. 8 or later.
The 2020 NBA Draft is in a month.
The Knicks are slated to pick 8th, 27th (from LA Clippers), and 38th (from Charlotte).
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