NY Knicks: “Draft or Pass” on 3 recently linked prospects
By Mark Nilon
NY Knicks draft target No. 2) Cameron Thomas, SG, LSU
Though the NY Knicks were much improved as an overall team in 2020-21 when in comparison to pretty much the past decade, this is not to say they were without flaws.
Easily their biggest weakness as a unit was their offensive production, specifically in the scoring department, and if this wasn’t already evident during the regular season, it certainly should have been in the playoffs.
Ranking 26th in points per game by regular season’s end (107), their scoring woes flowed right along into the postseason, as they placed dead last in this department with a mere 97 points accumulated in five games against the Atlanta Hawks.
Seemingly playing 90s-style basketball in the 2020s, it’s imperative that Leon Rose and co. look to bring aboard more scoring punches this offseason to help improve this aspect of New York’s game during the 2021-22 campaign, and perhaps no better option will be available at this point in the draft than LSU standout guard, Cameron Thomas.
During his one-and-done season with the Tigers, Thomas posted stellar per-game scoring averages of 23 points a night.
Though his shooting efficiency may be a tad bit concerning (converted on about 40.6 percent of his attempts from the floor and a mere 32.5 percent from deep), Buckley believes his ability to buy a bucket is simply too hard to look past at pick No. 19:
"His bag features an endless array of dribble moves to ditch defenders, and he is confident launching from anywhere. The 19-year-old is fearless from three, accurate from mid-range and aggressive around the basket. When he moves off of the ball, he is smart with his movements and skilled in his footwork. Thomas’ game doesn’t really have other layers to it right now. He isn’t the most creative or willing passer, and his defensive motor comes and goes. But the scoring punch is powerful, and there is potential for him to grow his game beyond the spark-plug role."
What must be remembered when dissecting his shooting efficiency from deep (or, rather, the lack thereof) is that though his attempts may not have dropped all that often, his form should certainly not find itself being questioned, and the proof of this lies with both his 2-point attempt percentage (46 percent) and, more importantly, his free-throw percentage (88 percent).
Drawing highly complementary comparisons to Lou Williams and even Buddy Heild on some occasions, snagging a player such as Thomas in the back-end of the draft could be a huge win for the NY Knicks.