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Big news in New York today! A talented small forward is the apparently the apple of the Knicks' eye.
...let's not even get into that right now. The forward I'm talking about is young Kentucky product Kevin Knox, an intriguing frontcourt prospect in next week's draft who apparently had Knicks GM Scott Perry and President Steve Mills looking like human heart-eye emojis after last week’s workout, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley:
Some members of the Knicks organization came away ‘very impressed’ by Kentucky’s Kevin Knox after his performance in workout with the team last Saturday, per league sources. Knox worked out with a group that included Michigan State’s Miles Bridges. Knox and Bridges competed against one another in the workout, per sources. After the workout, members of the organization club inquired about Knox’s remaining workouts, asking if he had any workouts with teams drafting ahead of New York. That’s standard for the draft process, but perhaps indicates the club’s level of interest in drafting Knox. Knox is currently projected to be drafted at No. 9 by the Knicks in ESPN’s latest mock draft.
That might explain ESPN moving Knox to the Knicks’ spot in yesterday’s mock draft. And if he actually did go toe-to-toe with Michigan State’s Miles Bridges in a workout, that’s no small feat. Bridges is known as a pretty good defender, and at this point has a body that seems much more NBA-ready than Knox.
As you may or may not know, I wrote up a Know the Prospect piece on Knox just last week! And while I didn’t come out completely blown away, at just 18 years old, Knox is one of the youngest players in his class. He struggles with consistency, but when his best traits (scoring, transition play, etc.) show though, you can see where Mills and Perry might see him as a potential difference-maker of the future for the Knicks.
Of course, this could also just be a coordinated leak to misdirect other teams. If you recall, the Knicks also “had the hots” for Trae Young a matter of weeks ago. They’ve also been very publicly linked to Villanova’s Mikal Bridges and the aforementioned Miles Bridges, among others. So, take everything with a grain of salt.