NBA Draft: Cole Anthony says it would be ‘pretty cool’ to play for Knicks
North Carolina stand-out Cole Anthony recently talked about the prospect of starting his NBA career in his hometown of New York City.
NBA Draft prospect Cole Anthony was born in Portland, but he is a New York kid with a father who played for the nineties Knicks. It’s unclear where the Knicks will pick in the upcoming draft, whether the team would select Anthony, or where he will ultimately fall in the first round, but when asked about the prospect of playing in his hometown, the North Carolina star says it would be pretty cool.
“The Knicks? That would be alright,” Anthony said on the Full Court Press podcast released earlier this week. “That would be pretty cool.”
Anthony was asked if he has thought about playing in New York, considering his connections to the city.
"“The thought has definitely crossed my mind,” Anthony said. “It would be cool to be able to get to play in front of my family, to play in front of my little brother. Definitely wouldn’t have anything to complain about if that would happen. But I would just be blessed to be able to be drafted by any team. Really, it’s not my choice at this point. We still honestly don’t know when the draft’s going to be.”"
Anthony has seen his stock fall leading up to the 2020 NBA draft, but the Archbishop Molloy product hasn’t let that get him down.
After suffering a knee injury in December, some teams might be hesitant to use a high lottery pick on a recently injured point guard, despite the fact he proved he can still play at the end of the college basketball season before it was shutdown due to the novel coronavirus.
While trying to keep his game sharp during the pandemic, Anthony has struggled to find outlets, especially living in New York, right now. He told the Full Court Press podcast hosts that he wants to improve his decision-making, particularly his shot selection.
The Knicks currently have the sixth highest odds in the lottery. Anthony is projected to go anywhere from 7-12 in the draft, according to most mocks.
New York reportedly scouted Anthony extensively prior to the scouting season being halted, but it’s unclear whether that really means anything, considering they should have been doing their homework on a collection of first round prospects in prep for the draft. The Knicks have a second first round pick from the Marcus Morris trade.
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