The Knicks hold the No. 4 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, and it looks more and more like New York will select a Kentucky big man. The only question is which one. They’ve already been rumored to be strongly looking at Willie Cauley-Stein and linked to Karl-Anthony Towns, too. But according to a new report, it might be another UK star: Trey Lyles.
From Frank Isola of the NY Daily News:
Even with Karl Anthony-Towns expected to be the first overall pick in next month’s NBA Draft, the Knicks may stick with the philosophy of taking the best Kentucky big man available.
While Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein have garnered the most attention, the Knicks for months have been enamored with Trey Lyles, according to a team source. Lyles is a 6-foot-10 forward out of Indianapolis who Phil Jackson sees as a good fit for the triangle offense.
Would the Knicks select Lyles with the fourth overall pick? Crazier things have happened and if Jackson truly believes Lyles, the 2014 Indiana Mr. Basketball who was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and has played internationally for the U.S. and Canada, is worth it, perhaps he’ll make the move. A more plausible scenario would be for the Knicks to trade down, since most draft experts don’t see him as a top 10 pick.
The X-factor is what the Los Angeles Lakers do or don’t do with the second pick. There is already talk of Jackson’s former club considering Ohio State guard D’Angelo Russell which would leave Duke’s Jahlil Okafor available to Sixers at No. 3. Philadelphia already has a Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid on its roster and could potentially use the pick in a trade or pass on Okafor. In that case, the Knicks would select Okafor, thus erasing the pain of falling from two to four at the Draft Lottery.
