2024 Draft Prospects

[MugzZo]

Castle with a good game. He could fit well next to Melo and Miller at the 3

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He would be the 2, but I agree.

That's what I said. Miller the 3.

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[JustBuzzin]

Castle with a good game. He could fit well next to Melo and Miller at the 3

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He would be the 2, but I agree.

That's what I said. Miller the 3.

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Oh my bad.

[MugzZo]

He would be the 2, but I agree.

That's what I said. Miller the 3.

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Oh my bad.

All good. I really like him also. He's gonna be a 15 5 and 5 guy in years 2 or 3 max. He also the type with Brandon who will help change the culture. He was scorer coming out. He changed his game to fit uconn. The ability is there. 15 is being modest. I think he can top out at 20ish points and sustain it. He's gonna play hard, learn, and get better he's young. He's produced at a prestigious program as a freshman. He's right for us. I want nothing to do with Reed or Williams after these past few games and days. There is just no way they make us better in any way. Castle impacts winning. He plays more good games the tournament he's a top 5 lock.

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[JustBuzzin]

That's what I said. Miller the 3.

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Oh my bad.

All good. I really like him also. He's gonna be a 15 5 and 5 guy in years 2 or 3 max. He also the type with Brandon who will help change the culture. He was scorer coming out. He changed his game to fit uconn. The ability is there. 15 is being modest. I think he can top out at 20ish points and sustain it. He's gonna play hard, learn, and get better he's young. He's produced at a prestigious program as a freshman. He's right for us. I want nothing to do with Reed or Williams after these past few games and days. There is just no way they make us better in any way. Castle impacts winning. He plays more good games the tournament he's a top 5 lock.

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Yep I agree. His basketball IQ is the thing I like the most. He knows his role within the team and he goes out and plays smart basketball. Sure his shot is questionable, but he has other skills that makes up for it. He's going to play defense. This team desperately needs a player like that.

[Liver_Pooty]

I'll pass on anyone with a questionable shot. Just give me someone who can shoot a basketball

[JustBuzzin]

I'll pass on anyone with a questionable shot. Just give me someone who can shoot a basketball

What about defense?

[MasterIchiro]

The well-rounded game is what you look for in a tournament match. Castle impacted all facets of the game and played within himself resisting the urge to iso his way to higher draft stock. It shows he's engaged in all areas and willing to trust coaching to get the most out of his potential. He's going to improve rapidly with that mindset. It's healthy and humble.

Someone upstream showed a video clip that really did more to pique interest in his defense. Hornets saw how the defense overachieved when Dennis Smith Jr. defended the perimeter as Mark Williams anchored the paint after the Plumlee trade.

Clifford tried to recreate the magic but it doesn't work with a zero on offense like Martin (who remarkably has iso tendencies) and knucklehead Nick Richards who gets lost on defense. The gap in defensive awareness between Mark and Nick dwarfs the Grand Canyon.

Castle looks like that rare elite defender who can create for himself and others on offense. It would be nice to add someone we don't have to wait to develop for years and years. Brandon Miller has been such a pleasure to watch.

He's possibly as good defensively as Miller is on offense. And I believe Miller looks like a primary scoring option on a serious playoff team. When LaMelo Ball is your second option, Miles your third, you just need your perimeter defender /Swiss Army knife not to be a zero on offense.

Castle plays defense with the tenacity of Patrick Beverly without the antagonistic shtick and the demonstrative flailing and waving of the arms. He plays honest and clean, kind of a silent killer on defense.

You don't worry too much about the shot if he can score at the rim or pressure it while sandwiched between two ELITE spacers.

[MasterIchiro]

Also Clingan put up 19-8 in that game. I'd love to re-home him to the Chicago Bulls. They really need a center prospect with Vuc getting up there in age, and being a poor rim protector and overall weak defender. I think Clingan will become am elite rebounder and rim protector.

I'm okay with Castle here because though we've lost a bunch recently, I believe in the core pieces of this roster. I also like Mann and Micic. So the bench is steadily improving.

I don't see us sticking with Cody Martin and Nick Richards for the long haul, but their contracts are small and easy to move so there's no rush.

[JustBuzzin]

For the Castle doubters don't look at his shooting, look at him like a Draymond Green type of player. He's going to do a lot of things that don't show up on the stat sheet. He's like that glue guy to a starting lineup. Everything will run more smooth with that kind of high IQ player. He's going to lead with his defense and unselfish play on offense. He's a culture changer. Put him with Miller and we got something special.

Having those kind of high IQ players rubs off on everyone else.

If you want scoring then I'm not sure why people aren't suggesting Knecht more. He seems like the best scorer in this draft or you can say Dillingham based on potential.


I'm just looking at it from a team perspective, I think Castle offers the most value in a particularly weak draft with no stars.

[MasterIchiro]

The way I see it, Anunoby makes the Knicks much better and he's not a top option. He's probably a third option. We wouldn't need Castle to be more than a 4th option with his elite defense.

I'd take Mark Williams over Mitchell Robinson, LaMelo over Brunson long term, Miles over Randle.

The difference is the Knicks' time is now. Their pieces are evolved and they're backed by an impressive system of coaching and development. Our roster has good bones and we have a full cupboard of draft picks to leverage for trade and draft/development as we gain the experience we need to compete with seasoned veteran teams like NYK.

We can't be spoiled about this draft. There's no difference maker. So it boils down to fit and impact given fit.

[Diop]

I keep forgetting Mitch is a former player.

I just watched Winning Time and it covers when he starts at the Lakers, he was overpaid and averaged about 35 games a season over 5 years. Remind you of someone???

Well, he did blow out his knee 26 games into his first season with the Lakers and it took him out for a season and half the next one to recover enough to play. Prior to the injury he was pretty good. Put some respect on his name - he did earn a gold medal and 2 NBA Championships as a player.

I was referring to the show and his time at lakers which was disappointing and caused disharmony in the locker room. Also found it ironic how similar value wise his time at lakers was to Hayward.

Anyhow I didn’t mean to derail this thread

[wilson115]

If we got a high enough pick that we could deal it and maybe a player for Portland’s projected 5th and 13th picks, then Edey at 13 “might”be a target. He’s currently mocked in the low to mid 20’s.

Rather take my chances on Clingan and his defense, centers just don't get drafted for their offense anymore unless they can shoot. Usually skeptical about trading down for more picks but I'd understand the FO going for it in this draft if we miss out on Sarr. Can't wait to see how they take it when we pass up Ron Holland for Clingan and Furphy.

[MasterIchiro]

I would've surrendered this pick for Anunoby btw. But the Raptors seem to covet prospects sometimes over draft capital. I don't believe RJ & Quickley hold top-5 lottery value. But OG's contract was an issue given his raise is due at the same time LaMelo and Miles get theirs. So maybe we restart the clock with a rookie scale contract to an elite wing defender.

Castle could be special on defense. Backed by Mark as a firewall and maybe we're closer to playing both ends competitively if LaMelo and Mark can stay healthy and if the coach is someone experience who arrives with an entourage to help balance a young front office.

[JustBuzzin]

The way I see it, Anunoby makes the Knicks much better and he's not a top option. He's probably a third option. We wouldn't need Castle to be more than a 4th option with his elite defense.

I'd take Mark Williams over Mitchell Robinson, LaMelo over Brunson long term, Miles over Randle.

The difference is the Knicks' time is now. Their pieces are evolved and they're backed by an impressive system of coaching and development. Our roster has good bones and we have a full cupboard of draft picks to leverage for trade and draft/development as we gain the experience we need to compete with seasoned veteran teams like NYK.

We can't be spoiled about this draft. There's no difference maker. So it boils down to fit and impact given fit.

You are making sense!

I said weeks ago this draft doesn't have that special talent. We need to focus on the best fit for us. Sure scoring is great, but we need to start getting some 2 way players. This team hasn't played defense since the Crash/SJax Bobcats era. We need to get back to finding some dawgs who play both sides of the court.

[JustBuzzin]

Melo/Miller/Bridges your 3 scorers.

Castle/Mark your defenders.


Miller at least tries to play defense, so if you got 2 starters who attempt to play defense that rubs off on Miller. Now you have 3 starters playing defense. Okay Melo and Bridges do you buy in?


This is how you change the culture.

[JDR720]

Edey with a solid 30/21 game.

Dude is a beast.

[MasterIchiro]

Melo/Miller/Bridges your 3 scorers.

Castle/Mark your defenders.


Miller at least tries to play defense, so if you got 2 starters who attempt to play defense that rubs off on Miller. Now you have 3 starters playing defense. Okay Melo and Bridges do you buy in?


This is how you change the culture.

This 5 is balanced. As an extension, the bench can balance pure scorers like Nick Smith Jr. with Grant Williams. Mann could develop into a 2-way PG2. Last game he notched 4 steals.

If the owners/front office valued an additional scorer to augment Miller, LaMelo and Miles, we would've kept Terry Rozier instead of swapping him for distant draft capital.

Knicks have less firepower on offense. In fact they traded offense (Quickley/RJ) for a 2-way player known more for elite defense.

There's only 1 ball and only so many touches between Miller, LaMelo and Miles. The whole concept of Big 3 is predicated on rosters tilting towards offense, but not outside 3 above average to elite scorers. You win with offense balanced by defense, depth and experience.

The Hornets gave too much rope for far too long to the wrong side of the ball (from Biz to Clifford to MKG to Vonleh to MCW to Martin, McDaniels, Thor and even Bryce McGowens to an extent).

Today's best teams play more like the Warriors dynasty teams than they do like the retro Detroit Pistons. But Clifford made JT Thor a 6th man during a lost season before he made Nick Smith Jr. one.

Castle is not MCW, Biz, MKG, Vonleh, Martin or Thor.

[JustBuzzin]

Edey with a solid 30/21 game.

Dude is a beast.

Saw the game and he's literally standing under the basket. He's still going to struggle in the NBA because of his lateral quickness. He's going to be pretty much unplayable on defense. I see him as a backup on limited minutes at the next level.

Great college player no doubt.

[JDR720]

The best player in the league has poor lateral quickness.

The last DPOY has poor lateral quickness. The frontrunner for DPOY this year has even worse lateral quickness.

The last MVP has poor lateral quickness. The frontrunner for MVP this year has poor lateral quickness.


Point being, this belief that big centers are somehow not able to play, even dominate todays NBA, isn't true.

I may not pick him 5th. But I would look into trading back into the 1st round to get him.

Especially since this board isn't a big fan of Richards and Mark may not be healthy any time soon.

So who better to bring in than the most dominant player in college basketball?

[JustBuzzin]

He's a pure post up big. Jokic/Embiid can score at all 3 levels.

When was the last time we had a pure post center in the NBA?

I get people love this kid, but there is a reason he's not even a projected top 10 pick. Those kind of centers just aren't in the NBA anymore. The only way I see Edey having success is if they literally make him the #1 option and build the offense around him 4 out 1 in style offense. A guy like that needs space. It's the only way I think he could be a potential star at the next level.