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New York Knicks: Five options at point guard in 2020 NBA Draft

By Maxwell Ogden

Potential New York Knicks targets RJ Hampton of the Breakers looks on with LaMelo Ball of the Hawks during the round 9 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena on November 30, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)
Potential New York Knicks targets RJ Hampton of the Breakers looks on with LaMelo Ball of the Hawks during the round 9 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena on November 30, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images) /
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New York Knicks
New York Knicks target Tyrese Haliburton #22 of the Iowa State Cyclones drives the ball in the second half of play at Hilton Coliseum on November 12, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa State Cyclones won 70-52 over the Northern Illinois Huskies. (Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images) /

Tyrese Haliburton, Iowa State Cyclones

The New York Knicks could be looking for a player who can both create for others and score in order to fill the void at the point guard position. With RJ Barrett already slotted in at shooting guard, however, it may behoove the Knicks to find more of a playmaker than a scorer.

If that proves to be the goal, then the Knicks should spend serious time studying the film of Iowa State Cyclones point guard Tyrese Haliburton.

In terms of upside, Haliburton projects to be Elfrid Payton with a jump shot. His bread and butter will be setting the table for teammates on offense and being active in the passing lanes on defense, but his contributions should be felt in every phase of the game.

That doesn’t mean Haliburton is guaranteed to pan out, but he has a complete skill set that includes a marksman-level jump shot from the NCAA’s three-point line.

Haliburton has a thin frame that will need to fill out, but he and Barrett would create a genuinely unique backcourt. The Knicks would have two more-than-competent defenders who both stand over 6’5″, thus creating invaluable versatility as far as matchups and switching are concerned.

There are reasons to question whether or not Haliburton’s game will translate to the NBA, but if Scott Perry believes that it will, the sophomore sensation could be a steal of an acquisition.

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