NY Knicks: 4 Realistic Draft Prospects for New York

NY Knicks Draft target No. 4:  Vrenz Bleijenbergh

Player Comp: Aleksej Pokusevski

The history of these foreign unicorns is spotty for sure.  You could get Giannis, Porzingis, Gasol, Gasol, or Jokic.  Or you could get Darko Milicic.

If the Knicks are in the mood for a high-risk, high reward prospect…look no further.

Vrenz Bleijenbergh (and I’ll give you $5 if you can pronounce that) on paper looks like a Durant-Esque offensive player.  Long and lean at 6’10, real shooting range, point-forward skills, and the potential to be a real virtuoso.

Compare and contrast his game to Aleksej Pokusevski’s.

Very similar positives and negatives.  A giant with an outside game and point skills.  Athletically, weight is his biggest concern.

He leans toward the lighter side, but he’s not as rail-thin as Poku is.

Vrenz doesn’t have quite the flair and wow factor Poku does offensively, but he has better fundamentals and a higher floor entering the league.

Quicker feet defensively, already more muscle mass, and a deceptively fast first step, Vrenz might be less entertaining than Poku, but he is already more polished.

Now he’s still a project, but it’s his speed that will keep him alive in the league next year. It will allow him to play forward where his weight discrepancies won’t be as exposed.

Imagine a jumbo line-up of Quickley, Barrett, Bleijenbergh, Randle, and Mitchell Robinson.

Or a scoring lineup of five true creators; Rose, Quickley, Barrett, Randle, and Bleijenbergh.

Having a player as unique as Vrenz allows Coach Tom Thibodeau to fully flex his imagination.

He’s risky for sure, but if Bleijenbergh pans out he could be a top-level talent.  He may not be the safest pick for a Knicks team trying to stay the course and be competitive, but if the front office wants another guy with star potential they can’t do any better than this with the pick they have.