NY Knicks: Tre Mann could be the steal of the NBA Draft

NBA Draft: Tre Mann could be a star for the NY Knicks

There are very few players who could start right away put up elite point production as a rookie and I don’t expect Mann to show up to a Tom Thibodeau team and play 30 minutes a night.

We have no idea what roles the NY Knicks draft picks will play, not just because the season is still months away, but we still don’t know how they will fill out the rest of their roster in free agency.

I fully expect the team to make a push to bring Derrick Rose back. Maybe they also sign a new point guard in free agency?

If the team rolls out the hypothetical backcourt lineup of Lonzo Ball and RJ Barrett, with Immanuel Quickley, Derrick Rose, and Luca Vildoza coming off the bench, where does Tre Mann fit?

The answer to that question is, I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter. Tre Mann is a supreme enough talent to be drafted onto a team that already has a lot of guards. It’s a good problem to have.

Whatever New York’s roster looks like on opening night, it’s easy to see Mann playing a role.

He’s going to have to get his defense coached up. Without getting too much into the detailed analysis, Mann needs work on his positioning and closeouts. He has some nice pick-pocket instincts but needs work on his man-to-man defense. Tom Thibodeau can help with that.

Mann measured in at 6’4.25 at the NBA Draft Combine. He could still be growing, and he has some physical tools to work with.

In some of the same ways Immanuel Quickley left his mark on the team last season, Tre Mann can have an impact as both a secondary ball-handler and scorer. He gives the team an added dimension to their backcourt as a 3-level scoring point guard.

The high-level shooting combined with his down-the-line potential is what makes him such a perfect pick for New York. He has the tools to be a star guard in the NBA, and this would be a long-term investment for New York that would show early returns.

Tre Mann’s game checks a lot of the critical boxes to succeed as an NBA guard and he could be a potential star in New York.