Duke forward R.J. Barrett is the consensus No. 3 prospect in the upcoming NBA draft. He wants to join the Knicks. The Knicks have the No. 3 pick.
Perfect match?
Maybe not.
Jonathan Givony of ESPN:
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
Due to the logistics of this workout, Garland may miss the NBA Draft media session which starts at 11am tomorrow.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 18, 2019
Maybe this is just New York doing its due diligence. The Knicks could also be trying to drum up trade interest among teams that want Garland.
But this feels a little like 2015, when Jahlil Okafor was the consensus No. 2 prospect for most of the pre-draft process but D’Angelo Russell emerged late as the Lakers’ No. 2 pick.
Barrett is a flawed prospect. He didn’t hit jumpers efficiently at Duke. His decision-making is suspect. He’s too left-handed dominant. He rarely uses his defensive tools. There’s a lot to like, to be sure. Barrett has nice size, athleticism and physicality. He’s a good ball-handler and playmaker. He seems built for a leading role.
But it wouldn’t shock me if a team likes Garland more. The point guard is a knockdown shooter with the ball-handling and footwork to get that shot off. He needs work as a distributor and lacks Barrett’s defensive potential.
Garland might not be as good as Barrett right now. But Garland’s path to success might be a little more projectable.