New York Knicks: How the top 2019 NBA Draft prospects fit

Ja Morant, Murray State

Age: 20
Height, Weight: 6-foot-3, 170 pounds
Slash Line: .503/.336/.810
Season Averages: 24.6 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 10.0 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 5.2 TPG, 1.6 3PM

Every few drafts, a mid-major prospect rises to the forefront and lands in the top 10. Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard are just some of those players, both of whom are point guards. By June, Ja Morant will likely join them.

The star from Murray State, Morant is the high-flying, athletic point guard that could rise quickly among the players at his position in the pros. He soars like Russell Westbrook and resembles his game across the board — even in a sky-high turnover rate.

Morant is by far this team’s alpha, though, and has a 33.2 usage rate. There are other talented scorers, including Leroy Buchanan and Tevin Brown from behind the arc, but no one approaches the impact this star sophomore makes at both ends of the floor, especially with 10 assists per game and almost a pair of three-pointers.

The New York Knicks could use another point guard, as the Frank Ntilikina experiment flounders, Emmanuel Mudiay hits restricted free agency and Dennis Smith Jr. is a prime trade candidate and is flawed like the others.

If the organization does not believe in any of them, that’s where Morant factors in. He has the excitement Smith brings and the long arms like Ntilikina. It’s just a matter of how this gaudy stat line translates to the NBA that makes the difference.

Morant should land in the top three or five in the draft, where the Knicks will select. He’s not essential, but if Scott Perry and Steve Mills feel this 20-year-old upgrades a rotating position, then this is an intriguing pick.