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Tyrese Haliburton

Knicks To Target Scoring Point Guard In 2020 Draft?

February 18th, 2020 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Knicks‘ playoff chances for 2019/20 essentially dead, the team has its eye on the 2020 draft class. And according to Marc Berman of The New York Post, the Knicks’ scouting staff has been informed that the top priority for the club’s lottery pick is a scoring point guard.

Despite using their 2017 lottery selection on Frank Ntilikina and acquiring former top-10 picks such as Elfrid Payton and Dennis Smith Jr., the Knicks have been unable to secure a long-term answer at the point guard spot in recent years. It remains to be seen whether New York will find its answer in this year’s draft, but there should be some options, especially if the team remains in position to pick in the top half of the lottery.

Berman singles out LaMelo Ball as one possible target, noting that Leon Rose was expected to be Ball’s agent at CAA before Rose agreed to become the Knicks’ next president of basketball operations. Cole Anthony (UNC), Tyrese Haliburton (Iowa State), Tyrese Maxey (Kentucky), and Killian Hayes (France) are other young guards who figure to be on the Knicks’ radar on draft day, says Berman. All those players are projected to come off the board between No. 4 (Ball) and No. 12 (Hayes) in ESPN’s latest mock draft (Insider link).

With the Knicks’ front office in a transition period, it can be tricky to know what to make of reports like these, since it’s unclear whether they reflect the preferences of interim head of basketball operations Scott Perry or incoming head of basketball operations Rose.

However, Berman writes that the Knicks’ aggressive pursuit of D’Angelo Russell at this month’s trade deadline was under Rose’s “consultation,” which suggests the veteran agent has had a voice in the front office even before he finishes tying up loose ends at CAA and officially joins the franchise. Russell, of course, would have perfectly fit the description of a scoring point guard.

According to Berman, the Knicks’ other priority in the draft will be a swingman with three-point range, something that RJ Barrett (.318 3PT%) hasn’t yet shown. Berman notes that New York could use the Clippers’ first-round pick to target that sort of player.

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Top Prospect Tyrese Haliburton Done For Season

February 10th, 2020 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Iowa State guard Tyrese Haliburton has been diagnosed with a left wrist fracture and will miss the rest of the 2019/20 college season, according to a press release from the team.

Haliburton suffered the injury during the first half of Saturday’s game vs. Kansas State. An MRI on Sunday confirmed the fracture, which will bring Haliburton’s sophomore season to an early end.

“We are disappointed for Tyrese and his family and we are focused on helping him in his recovery,” Cyclones head coach Steve Prohm said in a statement. “Tyrese is a great teammate, leader and valuable member of this program and university in so many ways. There is no doubt in my mind that Tyrese will face this setback with the same energy and passion that we have all come to appreciate and that he will return from this better than ever.”

It’s possible that Haliburton has now played the last game of his NCAA career. The second-year point guard had been in the midst of a breakout season, averaging 15.2 PPG, 6.5 APG, 5.9 RPG, and 2.5 SPG with a .592/.419/.822 shooting line in 22 games (36.7 MPG). The performance had helped boost his draft stock — he currently ranks sixth on ESPN’s big board, ahead of prospects like Cole Anthony and RJ Hampton.

Haliburton’s season-ending injury is the latest factor teams and scouts will have to take into account as they evaluate this year’s top prospects. A handful of players expected to be drafted in the top 10 haven’t played much this season — James Wiseman left Memphis after three games, Hampton and LaMelo Ball returned from Australia early due to injuries, and Anthony missed nearly two months with a knee injury of his own.

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And-Ones: Two-Way Deals, 2020 Draft, Tournament

December 25th, 2019 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The two-way contract didn’t exist prior to 2017, but it’s now in its third year of existence and has injected some additional talent into the G League, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.

“It’s added a lot of depth. The talent and skill level are at a different point than when I first came into the league as a player and as a coach,” South Bay Lakers coach Coby Karl said. “Over the last three years, it’s a completely different experience. … The young, talented guys were going overseas because there wasn’t enough money in the G League.”

While a two-way player still won’t earn as much as an NBA rookie on a standard, minimum-salary contract, that two-way player can earn up to about $411K this season if he maxes out his 45 NBA days, per cap expert Albert Nahmad (Twitter link). It also gives more young players a chance to enter an NBA team’s developmental program.

“I don’t love those contracts. They don’t really do anything for me,” one agent told Pincus. “They’re not very agent-friendly, but they’re a necessary vehicle. … [My clients] are getting in the door with an organization. They’re able to see the floor, to be a priority guy in the G League program while developing.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

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