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As team president Leon Rose prepares for his biggest night since being hired in March, he may not fix the Knicks point guard’s woes with the No.8 pick in Wednesday’s virtual draft.
According to multiple sources, there is a growing league buzzing the Bulls, at No.4, will win a surprise pick that will have a domino effect and drag Dayton into scoring striker Obi Toppin at the Knicks at No.8. Anything is possible. . It’s 2020.
For months, 6-foot-9-inch Brooklyn native Toppin has been projected as one of the Knicks’ top 5 picks and out of reach. But the Knicks have always used one of their training sessions on the 22-year-old Dayton star, considered one of the most explosive goalscorers in a weak draft and one of the players most ready for the NBA lottery after two seasons in the Atlantic 10.
The Knicks really like Toppin’s scoring potential and – even better – he’s represented by Creative Artists Agency, the company Rose ran. League sources believe the CAA connection is important to Rose.
The only question is whether Toppin is a strong enough defender for the tastes of coach Tom Thibodeau.
“I think Leon will rely on Tom a lot,” said an NBA source. “Is Obi a Tom-type player?”
Even if Toppin doesn’t slip, this might not be the year to take a point guard as high as No.8 with so little spinning time before training camp begins on December 1. French point guard Killian Hayes has intrigued the Knicks but sources believe he will go to the Pistons at No.7.
With the Knicks seemingly not high on Iowa State point guard Tyrese Haliburton, that leaves Alabama point guard Kira Lewis, who appears to be reaching 8th place but has the explosion as Knicks general manager, Scott Perry cherishes. The Knicks could trade for Lewis.
If the Knicks delayed taking a point guard – their most needy position – in the lottery, sources believe it would give Thibodeau more ammo to push for a trade with Russell Westbrook.
Two other wing players are squarely in the mix because they’re both defensive – Auburn small forward Isaac Okoro and Florida State shooting guard Devin Vassell, a 3-D prospect.
To boot, Vassell is also a CAA client and the Knicks worked him in Atlanta.
Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton, who has known Perry for years, compared Vassell to Klay Thompson’s potential in an interview with The Post this week.
“We play like a lot of NBA teams,” Hamilton told The Post. “Clear the floor, lots of ball screens. If you watch Devin play all year round, he doesn’t have the drop in intensity that a lot of people have. It is compatible with the defensive end and the offensive end. You look at him, he has that “it” factor that you just can’t put your finger on. He has that confidence and is never shaken. ”
Ironically, the emergence of Vassell’s Florida State teammate Patrick Williams could derail Vassell’s union with the Knicks.
The Bulls can move away from planned overseas striker Deni Avidja to take Williams at No.4. At No.5, the Cavaliers could then take Avidja, an Israeli forward, instead of keeping Toppin in Ohio. as it was planned to do. some time. That would likely drag Toppin to No.8.
Toppin has won numerous Player of the Year awards, averaging 20 points per game on 63 percent shots.
“I spoke with the Knicks,” Toppin said during an NBA Zoom call Tuesday. “I had an interview with them. It went very well. They have an excellent organization. It would be great to come home, but there are a lot of other teams ahead of them that are also excellent.
“I would love to be chosen by a place that suits me best. Go to a place where people are going to help me grow and improve and make sure that someday I’m great and be a Hall of Fame member and Player of the Year, an MVP.
If the Knicks start with a forward guard or No.8 shot, they’ll likely take a point guard with the 27th pick received from the Clippers in the Marcus Morris case. They have shown interest in Frenchman Theo Maledon, who could end up in Milwaukee at No.21, Tyrell Terry of Stanford and Malachi Flynn of San Diego State.
The Knicks also select 38th. Rest assured, all three Knicks rookies have their work cut out for them without a summer league or the normal volunteer practices in the month leading up to training camp.
“All the teams were telling me how fast the process was going to go after draft day,” said Okoro of Auburn. “How the next day you are just sent to where you are going and how fast the process is going to go with the training camp going so fast.”
Berman’s calls
No. 8: If Obi Toppin doesn’t slip, the Knicks will take the best available player – and best defender – in Auburn forward Isaac Okoro.
No. 27: Theo Maledon is a crafty playmaker with more speed than Killian Hayes and he might have an instant friend in fellow Frenchman Frank Ntilikina.
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