The New York Knicks need a point guard and De’Aaron Fox is the perfect player to pursue. He’s a must-have player in the 2017 NBA Draft.
The Kentucky Wildcats had yet another memorable season in 2016-17, capping it off with an Elite Eight loss to the eventual champion North Carolina Tar Heels. However, this season was different for Kentucky. Rather than having a dynamic or dominant frontcourt, they had two NBA-ready guards running the table.
Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox were able to lead the Wildcats all year while solidifying the idea that they are NBA-caliber players. Monk distinguished himself with unique scoring ability. Streaky shooters have a place in today’s NBA, but for the New York Knicks, streaky is a word they should avoid.
Which brings us to the No. 1 player the Knicks should draft in this upcoming draft: Fox.
Fox is one of the most athletically gifted point guards college basketball has ever seen. His cat-like quickness is unmatched by college point guards and can only compare to John Wall, Russell Westbrook, and LeBron James.
Skip to 0:48 in this freshman highlight video to see the sky-scraping ability of the faster than light point guard.
See Fox go 3/4 of the court in three seconds, while crossing over and finishing with finesse in the lane. Fox is gifted on the inside and has speed that few NBA players have had. 1:20 in this video shows the most surefire NBA transferable part of his game.
With one quick crossover, Fox blows by his man and into the lane for an easy layup.
Fox showed out in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, he showed his desire and drive to win, as well as a unique ability to rise to any occasion and prevail.
In his biggest game of the year, Fox took on projected top two pick Lonzo Ball in one of the more memorable Sweet 16 match ups in recent memory. Fox took this game as a challenge and dominated.
Fox ended up scoring 39 points, along with two steals, four assists and three rebounds. The crazy thing about his point total is that he went 0-of-1 from three.
He shot 13-20 from the field, and converted 13 of his 15 free throws.
Ball routinely dominated college basketball this season. He has a truly mystifying ability to get his teammates involved and make passes only Magic Johnson and LeBron James could. However, none of that ability was noticeable while being guarded by Fox.
Fox was an irritant for Ball the entire game. He played tough defense and held Ball to 10 points and eight assists—a mediocre game by Ball’s high standard.
In other words, Fox played one of the most efficient games of his career under the biggest and brightest lights. Fox is a gamer, and it was apparent when he broke down crying after UNC beat Kentucky in the Elite Eight.
While the numbers look good, the best part of this game came from the desire for the limelight. Fox didn’t back down from any challenge this year and that’s important in the NBA, where Fox will be guarding an All-Star guard quite often.
For a player who’s biggest question marks surround his offensive impact in the NBA, he has a solid inside game to complement an in-development outside stroke. His outside jumper is a major point of concern as he only shot 24 percent from three.
He’s coming into a league that’s dominated by 3-point marksmen like Stephen Curry and James Harden.
Fox has a pretty fundamentally sound jump shot, minus one small hitch at the top of his release. His shot can improve dramatically once he gets drafted and has time to work with an NBA shooting coach.
Must Read: Early April 2017 NBA Mock Draft
De’Aaron Fox is a must-draft prospect for the New York Knicks. He will bring something the Knicks haven’t had in a long time: a winning pedigree, rough-nosed defense, and world-class athleticism.