The New York Knicks need a centerpiece — an inside presence to pair alongside Carmelo Anthony. John Calipari and his Kentucky Wildcats have horses — for days.
It’s a match made in heaven.
Frank Isola of the New York Daily News is reporting that Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks’ front office have traveled to scout several practices of the No. 1 ranked Kentucky basketball team.
The Knicks are expected to pick somewhere between No. 1 and No. 5 in the NBA Draft and would strongly consider Karl-Anthony Towns or Willie Cauley-Stein.
According to several sources close to the Kentucky program, the Knicks top scout Mark Warkentien has attended nearly a dozen Wildcats practices as the club prepares for the most important decision of the Jackson regime. Jackson visited Lexington last week after attending an Ohio State game to watch point guard D’Angelo Russell.
The worst season in franchise history could result in Jackson choosing between two freshman big men on the night of the draft; Towns and Duke’s Jahlil Okafor. Of the two, Okafor has been the more prolific offensive player. He has already developed a low post and mid-range game. Okafor, however, can be a liability defensively. So much so that Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski has played more zone than ever before to cover for Okafor’s inability to defend pick-and-rolls.
Towns is the more athletic player. He’s a gifted rebounder, who can run the floor and is gaining more confidence in his offensive game. His numbers are somewhat skewed because Kentucky coach John Calipari uses a “platoon system” which is a fancy way of saying he has a deep roster. However, NBA executives all agree that Towns needs to improve his lower body strength because he was easily be rooted out of the post.