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New York Knicks Draft Profile: Duke guard Cassius Stanley

By Geoffrey Campbell

New York Knicks option Cassius Stanley #2 of the Duke Blue Devils drives past Jahvon Blair #0 of the Georgetown Hoyas during the second half of their game at Madison Square Garden on November 22, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
New York Knicks option Cassius Stanley #2 of the Duke Blue Devils drives past Jahvon Blair #0 of the Georgetown Hoyas during the second half of their game at Madison Square Garden on November 22, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FLORIDA – JANUARY 04: Cassius Stanley #2 of the Duke Blue Devils warms up prior to the game against the Miami Hurricanes at the Watsco Center on January 04, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Cassius Stanley: Weaknesses

When you’re drafting later in the first round, or even in the second round, this is less of a concern, but age is often a topic of discussion as it relates to a player’s ceiling. Stanley is 21 years old, which is relatively up there for a freshman.  Over the past five seasons, of the 25 rookies that were selected to the All-Rookie first team, nine were 21 years old or older including Kyle Kuzma (22), Donovan Mitchell (21), Ben Simmons (21), Malcolm Brogdon (24), Dario Saric (23), Joel Embiid (22), Willy Hernangomez (22), Nikola Mirotic (23), and Jordan Clarkson (22).  Admittedly, Embiid and Simmons shouldn’t be on this list, but you get the point. Just because Stanley is older, doesn’t mean that he can’t a productive player in the NBA.

That said, Stanley does have some clear areas where he needs to improve. His handle is a bit loose for my liking and he often has difficulty keeping the ball close when he dribbles into the paint. And while his poor handle may not be the major culprit of his abysmal assist (30 total) to turnover (54 total) ratio, it certainly doesn’t help.

The video below demonstrates a lack of awareness as Stanley drives into the paint. In the first clip, he gets his shot blocked fairly easily without noticing the weak-side help, and the next clip features Stanley almost tripping into the lane prior to getting his pocket picked by Louisville’s Jordan Nwora.

For guards, and especially guards who are not necessarily lights-out shooters, getting to the line is imperative. According to tankathon, Stanley’s free-throw attempt rate is .389. This ranks above other shooting guards that will likely be taken before Stanley including, Anthony Edwards, Devin Vassell, RJ Hampton, and Josh Green. Despite this, if Stanley is only hitting 36 percent of his threes, he will have to get to the line more often to make an impact and stay off the bench.

In general, Stanley his still putting his defensive game together. He ranked within the 58th percentile in opponents points per possession in isolation plays, but, like most young players, is susceptible to occasional back-door cut, and he can lose his man if you put him through enough screens. Furthermore, for a player with his athletic profile, you would like to see Stanley average more than 0.7 steals per game. Of the guards previously mentioned, Stanley ranked last within that group and tied with both Kentucky’s Tyrese Maxey and Utah State’s Sam Merril for the lowest average of steals per game amongst tankathon’s shooting guards in the top 68.

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