With the NBA lottery over and done with, the pick order is all set and it’s nice to know that I haven’t had anything to worry about or stress over because the NY Knicks were well outside the lottery, to begin with.
It’s fun to be a Knicks fan again but the downside of that is that they’re no longer in consideration for any of the top picks, but that’s a good thing if you ask me.
The other day I wrote an article regarding some targets for the Knicks at pick 19.
I said it before and I will say it again…they’re probably not going to use either of these picks and are far more likely to either trade up as high as they can or trade out of the draft altogether.
Strangely enough, there aren’t a lot of players on today’s roster that are easily replaceable.
Who would you want the NY Knicks to draft with pick #21?
I think there’s going to be at least 5 or 6 players from this past season’s roster that will be on the Knicks if and when they win a title.
That said, this draft is super deep and I’m very excited about a lot of the prospects coming out this year.
If Coach Thibodeau were more open to giving rookies and younger players more burn, I wouldn’t be opposed to bringing in a bunch of rookies and seeing what they have to offer.
But in reality, the team is much better off investing in veteran players or using their picks on drafting some of the older rookies from the class that can better contribute to winning today.
Here we’ll be discussing some targets I would like the Knicks to consider with the 21st overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Should the NY Knicks target Jared Butler at pick 21?
At what pick Jared Butler is drafted is maybe more up in the air than any other prospect coming into the NBA in 2021.
Some mocks I’ve seen have him going as high as the late lottery, others like Adam Kester’s of Daily Knicks have him being drafted at pick 25.
I doubt he makes it past the first round but there are other mocks I’ve seen where he slips into the early second round too.
Butler definitely played second fiddle to Baylor’s star attraction, Davion Mitchell, but his skill set maybe translates better than Mitchell’s to the pro game right out of the gate.
High-level combo guard who shoots and facilitates, he’s got one of the higher floors amongst the draft class.
Some have compared him to Landry Shamet and I like that comparison a lot.
Generally speaking, when you play a big role in a team winning a National Championship in college, it increases your stock ten-fold.
He will find a number of ways to be impactful with and without the ball in his hands.
Butler shot nearly 42% from long range on the season, so if all else fails, he projects to be a great spot-up shooter off the bench.
Should the NY Knicks target Ayo Dosunmu at pick 21?
Another player that’s projected to go all over this draft is Ayo Dosunmu.
Some mocks have him going in the late teens while ours here at Daily Knicks has him dropping all the way down to pick 29.
I’d be pretty happy with him at 21 if I were the Knicks.
Ayo is a 6’5 200lb point guard who plays the game with a chip on his shoulder. He’s a tough, hard-nosed, aggressive playmaker.
Coach Thibs loves bigger guards and he fits the mold of a Thibodeau point guard in a lot of ways.
He’s both shifty and strong so he can muscle his way into the painted area or finesse his way inside.
Ayo had a massive junior season where he scored 20 points per game and averaged over 5 assists and 6 rebounds. He shot the 3-ball well to the tune of 39% on the year.
Ayo also averaged over a steal per contest.
He’s drawn comparisons to a poor man’s Jrue Holiday and I can’t think of anything more spot-on.
The biggest knock on Dosunmu is that he’s not the most athletic guard, as in he isn’t going to blow past anyone or jump through the roof, but where he lacks in those regards, he makes up with basketball IQ and could very well become a legitimate starting point guard in today’s NBA.
Should the NY Knicks target Chris Duarte with pick 21?
Always enjoy being able to bring a New York boy home!
Chris Duarte spent a few years living up in the Troy, New York area to finish out high school.
He’s an older rookie as he just turned 24 years old, so that could deter a lot of rebuilding teams from drafting him, but at pick 21, he’d be a perfect fit.
The quintessential 3-and-D wing standing at 6’6 190lbs, Duarte is a scoring sniper who loves to shoot the 3-ball.
On 5.5 attempts last season, Duarte shot over 42% and scored over 17 points per game.
He’s also a decent playmaker and rebounder averaging 2.7 assists and 4.6 boards.
We compared the Oregon sharpshooter to Evan Fournier, Jeremy Lamb, and Kevin Huerter and if he ends up even 85% of either of those players I’d take it.
Another colleague here at Daily Knicks said that Duarte is a better version of Reggie Bullock and that makes a ton of sense.
Adam Kester wrote:
"While Duarte isn’t a supreme athlete, he’s an intelligent defender. He has good instincts in his positioning and rotating, but he may struggle with the speed of some NBA guards. He may not ever be labeled a “lockdown” defender but Duarte should continue to grow into a competitive defender who can be a 3-and-D wing. Duarte has some point guard passing skills but not enough to project as a starting point guard."
At pick #21, I think Duarte would be an absolute steal.