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The Knicks have a late addition to their prospect workouts, with Vanderbilt freshman Darius Garland coming to their practice facility tomorrow morning. We recently profiled him, so go check that out if you’re unfamiliar. According to Jonathan Givony of ESPN’s Draft Express, Garland will sneak in just before the draft shot clock expires.
Darius Garland will conduct a last-minute workout in Tarrytown with the New York Knicks tomorrow, a source told ESPN. Garland is in serious consideration for the No. 3 pick. Minnesota, Boston, Chicago are teams looking at potentially trading up to No. 4 with Garland in mind.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 18, 2019
It may force him to miss prospect media day, but the real important thing is that Darius, son of Winston, seems to have made a full recovery from his knee surgery and will be ready to play in Summer League.
Source: Garland is back at 100% after his knee surgery in November and will be ready to play summer league, pending approval from the team that drafts him. Garland has had a number of impressive private workouts recently with the LA Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 18, 2019
Reading the tea leaves to figure out what this means for the Knicks is the tricky part. Certainly a lot of teams have come away impressed with Garland’s scoring ability. It may just be that Scott Perry and Co. have heard good things about his workouts and they want to see for themselves. Due diligence, as it were. It may also be that, in talking with other executives around the league, they may be exploring a trade back scenario and they don’t want to be caught with their Knick in the stands.
Whatever the case, Scott Perry has been calling the whole league’s bluffs, and for the first time in quite a while the Knicks appear comfortable in their own skin. There was talk that the Pelicans would try to jump the Knicks in a trade with Memphis to snag RJ Barrett. It doesn’t seem to have made Perry budge.
The thing about this draft is that it doesn’t feel so smart to trade up. If teams are after a depth add, just wait ’til your pick comes and make the requisite lemonade. There aren’t really that many gaps in talent outside of Mount Zion. Will the Knicks succumb to the pressures of Atlanta or New Orleans? Or will they stand pat, confident they can build with whoever becomes their selection at three? We’ll know soon enough.