With the recent rumor that the NY Knicks could trade into the Top 8 of the 2021 NBA Draft if they packaged together picks 19, 21, and 32, I figured I could play GM and have a little fun.
While there’s plenty of directions the Knicks can go in, I think trading up might just be their best bet.
They could package their picks in a trade for a star like Damian Lillard.
They could stay put at pick 19 and pick 21 and load up with more young talent than they’ve had in quite some time.
Or, as mentioned, they can trade up into the top tier of this draft and solidify a position at the guard/wing for the next 10+ years.
The countdown to this year’s draft is just about 3 weeks away and with much anticipation, the fanbase is eager to figure out in which direction the Knicks may go.
Who should the NY Knicks trade up for in the 2021 NBA Draft?
Now, we must take into account that there is a bit of a stigma around Coach Tom Thibodeau in that he doesn’t like playing his rookies and young players.
While I believe that the Knicks should look at the elder classmen and try to find players who can help the team ‘win now’, my colleague Adam Kester recently debunked this myth a bit.
Juniors and seniors coming out of the 2021 class would be the ones on my personal radar, but there’s a handful of freshmen that I really like too, that I also believe can contribute to short-term and long-term success.
Regardless of all of this, it’s now a known fact that the Knicks will be targeting players who can shoot and players on the wing, as per a recent interview by Coach Thibs.
Here are 3 players I believe the Knicks can target if they were to trade up into the Top 8 of this year’s draft.
Should the NY Knicks trade up for James Bouknight in the 2021 NBA Draft?
So, I think the consensus says that James Bouknight is ‘Our Guy’ as Knicks fans…at least for the most part.
Of course, we’ll have those who disagree with the selection, but no one else on this list has already made it clear he wants to be a Knick.
Marc Berman of the NY Post spoke with the Brooklyn-born native, Bouknight, and he mentioned that when interviewing with the Knicks, he made sure to let them know where he was from.
Bouknight was also a standout at UConn, so he’s been a local boy through and through and apparently would relish the opportunity to play for the orange and blue.
Bouknight will be 21 years old when the season starts so he’s got a nice blend of experience and youth, right on the cusp between the two.
He’s not turning 23 like Obi Toppin did this past season, and he’s also not a 19-year-old puppy.
What Bouknight does better than almost anyone in this draft is score.
He may be the best pure scorer in this class, and if not the best…then certainly second best behind Jalen Green who’s projected to go in the top 5 this year.
Without much talent surrounding him at UConn and constantly faced with double teams, Bouknight still managed to put up some elite scoring numbers this past season to the tune of 18.7 points per game.
He’s also a terrific rebounder for a guard, similar to RJ Barrett. Bouknight averaged nearly 6 a board per contest.
A major concern and knock against Bouknight would be his shooting from long-range.
The numbers were ugly, shooting under 30% on 5 attempts per game but there is some promise that those numbers can improve in a hurry because his free throw shooting percentages have been good for his entire career.
He shot at 78% from the charity stripe on 5.4 attempts per game.
To put things in a bit of perspective, RJ Barrett shot 31% from deep on over 6 attempts per game and shot 66% from the free-throw line on nearly 6 attempts.
The numbers are quite similar and if Bouknight’s free-throw percentage is any kind of tell, Bouknight projects to be as good if not better at 3-point shooting than our young RJ Barrett is.
In drafting Bouknight, the Knicks will never have a shortage of athletic guards who have a score-first mentality.
A worthy selection in the top 8 in my opinion.
Should the NY Knicks trade up for Davion Mitchell in the 2021 NBA Draft?
First off, before I get into the pros and cons of Davion Mitchell, I just want to let everyone know that he has by far the best nickname of anyone in this draft and possibly one of the best nicknames in the NBA.
He likes to be called ‘Off Night’ because when he’s guarding you, you’re bound to have an off night.
Love it.
Mitchell is one of the aforementioned elder classmen of 2021, in which he will be turning 23 years old during his rookie campaign.
I would understand taking him if he slipped down to pick 19, but we all know that ain’t gonna happen.
To trade 2 first-round picks for an almost 23-year-old sounds like it would be bad for business, no matter how good Davion Mitchell is.
That aside, he would fill a huge need at the point guard and could be ‘our guy’ for the next 10 years or so.
He’s a winner which is a huge plus, winning the National title at Baylor this past collegiate season.
Mitchell might be the best defensive prospect in the entire draft, something Coach Thibs is definitely keeping in mind come draft night.
One of the weirder stats and a huge red flag in my opinion would be his shooting numbers.
He’s been a poor free throw shooter for his entire career. He’s also been a poor 3-point shooter as well…up until this past season.
He shot under 66% from the charity stripe for his career between Auburn and Baylor.
Up until this last year, he was a below-average 3-point shooter but then all of a sudden he broke out this year and shot an elite 45% from behind the arc.
There’s a lot to like about this guy, but I would be afraid making this kind of investment in him for Mitchell to not be able to replicate the successes he had at Baylor in the 2020-21 season.
Should the NY Knicks trade up for Moses Moody in the 2021 NBA Draft?
The youngest trade-up target on this list, Moses Moody is primed to be a guaranteed contributor at the next level.
He just turned 19 years old back on May 31st so that should give the Knicks more time to develop his skills before he hits his ceiling.
At least more so than the 2 players mentioned earlier in this article.
Moody is the quintessential ‘3-and-D’ player you want in the modern NBA…parts of his game look like a rich man’s version of our very own Reggie Bullock.
Moody could very well be the next Klay Thompson in that he excels in the ‘catch and shoot’ and doesn’t need to dribble the ball or even have it his hands very much to be successful.
His fit with guys like RJ Barrett and Julius Randle would be near perfect.
Standing at around 6’6 with over a 7-foot wingspan, he’s got the frame that Thibs would go gaga over on the wing…with the shooting ability he wants as a little sweetener.
His numbers don’t do him justice because on paper, it shows he shot 36% from deep but the eye-test would show you he’s a much better real-life player than his numbers support.
Moody is coming off a season in which he scored nearly 17 points and grabbed 6 rebounds…he would be yet another guard who can grab plenty of boards to add to the Knicks.
There’s some room for improvement in the playmaking department, but if the Julius Randle-Reggie Bullock connection proved anything it’s that you don’t need to be the best playmaker as long as you can knock the 3-ball down with ease.
Moody is high on a lot of Knicks fan’s lists, but I would personally want someone with a bit higher of a ceiling.
Verdict: GIve me all the James Bouknight and it’s not close.