New York Knicks: 2019 NBA Draft targets worth trading into first round for

Age: 21
Height, Weight: 6-foot-10, 250 pounds
Slash Line: .502/.369/.761
Season Averages: 13.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 0.3 APG, 0.6 SPG, 1.5 BPG, 0.6 3PM

Florida State’s 2018-19 team was all height and length to provide mismatches against opponents. It led to a Sweet 16 loss to Gonzaga, but they stayed competitive in a difficult ACC, with North Carolina, Duke, Virginia and Virginia Tech among the opponents.

Mfiondu Kabengele represented part of it, standing 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan. Like Louis King, this combination will push the redshirt sophomore’s draft status and help once the combine arrives in May.

Playing off the bench in 21.6 minutes per game, Kabengele averaged 13.2 points and 5.9 rebounds with a healthy amount of steals and blocks. It translated in Per 40 Minutes stats to 24.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 2.8 blocks and 1.2 three-pointers.

So the size, NBA body and underlying stats are all there, which should make Kabengele an intriguing prospect. He even delivered two 20-point games in the NCAA Tournament.

However, a lack of passing hurts his game when more big men have developed handles over the years, as NBADraft.net noted. The 1.8 three-point attempts per game are small compared to the direction of today’s basketball, but he still made 50 percent of his total shots.

Kabengele has mid-first-round upside, but if the Knicks move to the bottom of the first 30 picks and he’s there, this is someone to add frontcourt size behind Mitchell Robinson. The only question is playing them together, unless one of them can take outside shots consistently to space the floor.