Knicks Draft Trevor Keels 42nd Overall

[thebuzzardman]

You must be crazy to think ima watch g league games

Why? You watch the Knicks. The Westchester product is superior to it.

I’ll just watch other teams

Solid choice.

I have no idea why anyone would watch this team now. Why?
There's no future for it.
treading 36 wins for the next 3 years.
No good picks, no compelling young players.
Two of the most boring "lead players" possible in Wandle and Stiff Robot.
Whatever.

[coopnyc74]

Hopefully he becomes a Marcus Smart type.

[thebuzzardman]

at least i can watch someones highlights after sinking 4 hrs

I watched like 2 minutes of his "highlights" and wanted to throw up in my mouth a little.

[El Poochio]

Spoiler:

STRENGTHS
A solid five-star prospect, Keels made the rosters for the McDonald’s All-American Game, Nike Hoop Summit and Jordan Brand
Classic. Was not expected to be a one-and-done but had good reports out of Duke’s preseason camp and burst onto the scene
in the team’s first game, where he outplayed TyTy Washington. Overall season was much more up-and-down. Made the ACC
All-Rookie team but was only intermittently effective due to some inefficiency issues and a shot that just wouldn’t fall. Played a
critical role in helping Duke get to the Final Four.
Extremely strong. Has real size between 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-5, 225 pounds. Doesn’t have exceptional length, but his 8-foot-5
standing reach will be good enough to play both wing positions. Huge shoulders and can use his strength very functionally on
the ground. Fluid enough to make it work athletically. Will be strong even by NBA guard standards.
Offensively, his best skill is his physicality as a driver. Does a great job of getting downhill and bouncing off guys because of his
strength. Best in transition in this regard right now. Really tough to corral him there. Contact initiator. He puts his shoulder
down and moves guys toward the rim without fouling. Does a good job of gaining leverage as a driver by getting his shoulders
lower than whoever is guarding him. Gets downhill quickly too. Weakside rim protectors bounce off him. Made 52 percent of
his shots at the rim in the half court, an OK number given how much he’s driving.
Uses that physicality well in pick-and-roll. Uses his patience and strength well to keep defenders on his hip. Comfortability here
helps to at least make up for his lack of explosiveness or pop as a ballhandler. Can draw defenders toward him then hit kickouts
and passes to rollers. Everything is a jump pass for the most part, but Keels gets away with it without turning the ball over. Had
a two-to-one assist-to-turnover rate as an 18-year-old in the ACC, which is pretty good. Doesn’t have the dynamism to truly be a
lead but does have the decision-making to be very helpful as a secondary ballhandler out there.
Defensively, think Keels does well in certain aspects. Fights through and powers through screens well. Guards up the lineup at a
high level because it’s hard for guys to push him around. Quick enough to deal with wings and strong enough not to get bullied
as they try to force their way into the midrange.

WEAKNESSES
Powerful but very boxy as an athlete. Everything requires a load-up. Does not have a great first step. Two-foot leaper as a finisher.
Doesn’t turn his hips well at all. Looks very heavy on his feet. Everything is so power-oriented right now. Doesn’t have a ton
of craft as a finisher. May struggle against bigger rim protectors as a result of all this. Doesn’t have any shiftiness off the bounce.
Don’t think he has any real isolation-shot creation upside because of that. Needs ball screen to separate from his man.
Struggles more against smaller guards defensively than you’d think because of that lack of hip flexibility. Really struggles to
drop his hips and cut off angles. Often ends up having to turn and run when guys make a quick move. There are times when he
gets left in the dust. Given what his role will be at the next level, I have a significant concern about this. Doesn’t quite have the
on-ball defensive acumen of someone like a Luguentz Dort. Struggles to contain on closeouts as well. Can get blown by on those
because he struggles to stop his momentum and get it going again.
A big part of the sell with Keels is his shooting. Was a terrific shooter in high school but struggled as a freshman at Duke.
Was it a matter of being extremely young for college basketball, or was it a functional issue? Made only 30 percent of his catchYEAR
and-shoot 3s. Think it’s a combination of both. He’s so square to the rim that it feels like he has very little upside shooting off
movement. Think he tends to be better off the hop with his shot arc but seems to take more of them off a one-two right now. A lot
of line-drive misses. Looks a bit robotic. Has a pretty significant ball dip. Also doesn’t have any pull-up game to speak of. Doesn’t
elevate at all into the jumper. Made 29 percent of his pull-ups. Having said that, this past year was the anomaly in terms of his
shooting. I don’t love the mechanics enough to buy into him as a true shooter, but I do think he can get to a manageable level.

SUMMARY
I get the idea behind Keels as someone who has a big, powerful frame who can manage a variety of switchable matchups while
handling the ball and making good decisions. But I worry he might not have the defensive acumen he often gets credit for. He
gets beaten a lot more than people who think about how he took TyTy Washington out of the first game of the college basketball
season remember. On top of that, I worry about how functional his shot is in terms of translating to higher volume at the next
level. I would have loved to have seen Keels return to school and try to improve some of these things, particularly his quickness
and flexibility. If teams think they can fix that, I get having more of a first-round grade on him. But I can’t quite get there.

[El Poochio]

at least i can watch someones highlights after sinking 4 hrs

I watched like 2 minutes of his "highlights" and wanted to throw up in my mouth a little.

Always fun to root for fat players or super skinny ones

Looks like we covered both bases

[DOT]

So he's like a less athletic Mudiay.

[Clyde_Style]

Junk in the Trunkyard Dog

[El Poochio]

So he's like a less athletic Mudiay.

Thought I was in the Montero thread for a sec

[ScienceOfLosing]

at least i can watch someones highlights after sinking 4 hrs

I watched like 2 minutes of his "highlights" and wanted to throw up in my mouth a little.

I see how the guy can amount to something but I wonder, why didn't we use a few 2nd's to move up when some solid players were still there (e.g. similar to what and where the Lakers did)????

I would have much preferred Chandler, Hardy, Nembhard, etc.

This is what, the 3rd time under this regime that we got bit with the "wait for Stefan Curry to fall into our laps" syndrome.
This year, it most likely was Johnny Davis who was last on our board and picked right before our pick.
It is getting tiring.

I think a lot of us are not going to let the geographical bounds of where we are from (aka New Yorkers), decide who we root for. LOL but true.

Lastly - Remember that feeling when we traded back last year and passed on some talent? That empty feeling? But then it kind of went away when we found out we got another traded for first. This year, it never came. It essentially has become "When free agency starts next week."

[Jimmit79]

This board about to overate keel after last night's massive failure.

[FrozenEnvelope]

We've had decent luck with the 2nd round so who knows? Keels is super young (turning 19 in August) and has shown flashes. With that body he should try to be Lu Dort tbh.

[mpharris36]

Read on Twitter

[DOT]

Read on Twitter

Well, they did move back into the 1st, but it was for Moore, not Keels.

[stuporman]

Hopefully he becomes a Marcus Smart type.

That was the thought in my head although Smart has guard quickness, forward strength and incredible wingspan for his size. Those are what make him so versatile and effective, not sure Keels can fit that same very unique type but we'll see.

[stuporman]

Read on Twitter

Well, they did move back into the 1st, but it was for Moore, not Keels.

...plus they secured a second rounder to nab Hardy and will be much better than Keels. The Knicks passed on Rollins who also will be better than Keels, too.

[ScienceOfLosing]

Read on Twitter

As stated above, the Mavs traded back into the draft, but I wonder if the Knicks see this as part of a S&T for Brunson?

[3toheadmelo]

[Luv those Knicks]

Keels could go either way, but I like the pick. Whatever you think of him, he should be able to lose weight and get more of an NBA body. The rest will depend on his timing on defense and ability to shoot 3s. There's a chance. I like him better than Landy Fields or Mardy Collins when they were drafted.

[The Lamma]

I'm not too excited about this pick, nor am I totally disappointed, either... you could say I'm pretty even... keel'ed...

[DrCoach]

Maybe he will be better than Johnny Davis