3 targets Knicks could trade back for in 2022 NBA Draft
By Mark Wessol
2. Malaki Branham – Ohio State University
Malaki Branham is a score-first talented wing who is absolutely lethal from mid-range. My favorite part of his game is his ability to pull up off the dribble. It may sound crazy but it reminds me a lot of Carmelo Anthony.
They both aren’t super athletic and won’t blow by you with speed, but it won’t stop them from getting buckets.
The lack of separation he gets doesn’t fret him, a couple dribbles past his defender puts him on his hip and then he pulls up, it’s automatic. He also has great body control which allows him to be creative in getting around the rim.
Looking at Malaki Branham's shot chart, he's become another very efficent player.
— 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘹 (@AlexDrProf) June 7, 2022
However if you compare his November with his February chart, you can see that:
1. He had a slow start
2. Since then he's become WAY more efficent from every distance
3. His volume's DOUBLED pic.twitter.com/LQAfuHu0Ay
You can see from these graphics how Branham loves to score the bulk of his points. But more importantly, as the tweet says, he improved essentially everywhere on the court as the season progressed, which is huge.
Branham isn’t great defensively, but that should be coachable, and if he continues to improve on that side of the ball he could fit in great with the Knicks.
Now, I may be foolish putting Branham in this article because if I was in charge of an NBA team he wouldn’t be making it out of the lottery. His frame is already NBA-ready and I have very little doubt that he won’t be able to become a day one contributor.
We all know that New York has a logjam at the wing position, but if the Knicks end up dealing some of the “veterans” off (like Alec Burks and Evan Fournier), I would love to see Branham in New York’s system.