New York Knicks: How to build the team in three phases during the offseason

For the Knicks, they have an excellent opportunity to fill roster holes as they currently have two first-round picks in this upcoming draft. Their own pick will be a top-10 pick, while their other pick will be later as they acquired it from the LA Clippers in the Marcus Morris trade.

This year’s draft is especially strong when it comes to high-upside point guards so that is what the Knicks should do with their first pick. With their later pick, they can target a shooting wing or big man.

New York Knicks draft target: Killian Hayes, guard 

Killian Hayes might end up being the best point guard of this draft, and he seems really ideal for how the Knicks want to build for the future rather than LaMelo Ball who has an amazing vision but lacks scoring touch.

Hayes seems to be a born ready pick-and-roll playmaker. His game definitely has shades of former European guards, Manu Ginobili and Goran Dragic. He has an excellent IQ when it comes to feeding roll-men or dishing out to shooters in pick-and-roll play.

He would be an excellent fit with RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson because of that playmaking ability. Being able to hit Barrett on quick cuts to the basket will drastically improve Barrett’s scoring efficiency. Then Hayes could hit Robinson as a roll-man or as a lob-threat much like the Clippers did with De’Andre Jordan.

His shooting can be a little bit streaky, and so far and he has shown to be very much left-hand dominant but with time and focus in New York along with a veteran mentor, Hayes could become extremely valuable to the Knicks in the future.

New York Knicks draft target: Killian Tillie, stretch-big 

I know, another Killian! This time it’s Killian Tillie the Gonzaga big-man who is a career 40 percent 3-point shooter that is built to be a modern big in today’s NBA. If we’re being honest Tillie could be available in the second round as well, but he feels like a true sleeper in this draft.

Tillie has lottery level talent, but some injuries in the past along with the lack of March Madness might cause him to slide down which is excellent for the Knicks. Tillie already has a smooth feel for the game that makes him an NBA-ready player.

The best part of Tillie’s game too is that he is very much a team-first player, he will pass, set screens, switch on defense, and make timely cuts essentially doing every little thing good players do.

The ability to fade off of screens for 3-point looks and the high IQ he has for team schemes both on offense and defense would make him a valuable pick up for the Knicks in the draft. He might not have the potential that other players have in this draft, but in the late first round, the goal is to find a long term contributor.

A surefire big man that is a smart player and an excellent knockdown shooter will definitely be someone that Knicks should have on their board going forward.