Cassius Stanley: Fit with the Knicks
Overall, Stanley is a player with a skill set that fits many NBA squads. The question will be, where he can improve his overall shooting efficiency, handle, and defense to be a consistent NBA rotation guard. Stanley may benefit from some time in the G-League, but based on his athleticism alone, he’s bound to a get a fair look at the professional level.
The Knicks current roster has quite a few guards including Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr., Damyean Dotson, Reggie Bullock, Wayne Ellington, RJ Barrett, Elfrid Payton and I guess…Theo Pinson.
Bullock, Payton, and Ellington all have team options that the Knicks can choose to exercise, but I would be surprised to see all three back in Knicks uniform next season. Additionally, depending on the market for Dotson, he may enter restricted free agency, and there is a chance he won’t be back either.
If the Knicks can select a lead guard in the lottery, there’s no harm in taking a flier on Stanley at 27 or 38. When current general manager Scott Perry came to New York, he talked about wanting the Knicks to be more athletic. Stanley checks that box five times over, and his one year at Duke shows that he has the tools necessary to be an important player in a modern NBA offense.