Typically when playing the role of non-believer for these pieces, I identify who’s getting the most hype for the NY Knicks on my timeline, choose a few I’m not crazy about, and go from there. That’s how both Jaden Springer and Ziaire Williams were selected. However, for this final installment, we went in a different direction: Stewart Zahn, our 2021 NBA Draft scout, threw out some second-round prospects he really likes, and we discussed whether or not they’d be good fits in New York.
NY Knicks: Looking at late-round targets
What I found most interesting about this final interview is that none of these prospects have been on my radar, which made me realize that I’ve had a pretty narrow view regarding how the Knicks should approach this draft, what types of players they should focus on, what skills/traits are most valuable to the team taking that next step. For me – like I’m sure it is for many of you – top priorities are shooting and shot creation. The NY Knicks are desperate for both. Anyone who watched even half of a game during the Hawks’ series knows these are what we need.
But they’re not all we need.
So should we be open to drafting non-shooters? Should we be open to the Knicks drafting a big, even though Mitch is back (and hopefully better than ever) and serviceable centers seem to always be available? Stewart addresses these issues and more in a way that might just leave you re-thinking how you want Leon Rose to utilize those second-rounders.