Knicks NBA Draft: 4 Gonzaga prospects the team could select
By Adam Kester
Knicks Draft: Gonzaga’s Joel Ayayi would bolster the backcourt
Joel Ayayi has been labeled just about every cliche you can think of when it comes to being a good teammate: “Ultimate glue guy”, “Heart and soul of the team”, “Makes everyone around him better” – These are tremendous qualities to have, and make no mistake, Ayayi has the potential to become more than a complementary player.
Ayayi could end up being a hidden gem in the draft due to being outshined by some of his Bulldog teammates. Ayayi’s current projection is somewhere at the end of the first round. The 6’5 combo guard has a lot of traits that NBA teams will love in a guard prospect.
The 21-year-old Ayayi has the ability to stuff the stat sheet. In his secondary role with Gonzaga, Ayayi averaged 11.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. He’s shown he can be a 3-level scorer – Ayayi posted field goal percentages of 67.5% on 2-pointers and 38.5% from 3. The real question marks with Ayayi are around his ceiling — Can he be a lead guard and consistently initiate his own offense at the NBA level?
Sometimes these types of questions around prospects about what their “Positional fit” in the NBA are overblown. You think of players like Tyrese Maxey and Immanuel Quickley who were labeled as “Tweeners” leading to questions like “Are they a point guard or a 2-guard?”. We know now, that doesn’t exactly matter. Both have excelled in their rookie season. In today’s NBA, those positional parameters don’t matter as much.
Ayayi has shown he can have an impact on both sides of the ball in his college career. Often overshadowed by his teammates, Ayayi could have more of an opportunity to shine at the next level. He’s a terrific athlete who could slot into The Knicks backcourt rotation as a duel threat – He and Immanuel Quickley certainly have different styles that could complement each other well in the future.