With the top two picks now a toss-up between Karl Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor, the third and fourth picks comes into play.
The Philadelphia 76ers pick third and they could opt to get either Emmanuel Mudiay or D'Angelo Russell. Both are the best guards available so it will be interesting to see who the Sixers will go to.
And whoever is left could likely end up with the New York Knicks, the hard-luck team which had hoped to be at least in the top three. The Knicks had the best odds to be at the top of the draft lottery but as fate would have it, the team ended up picking fourth.
But from the looks of it, the fourth pick is not so bad after all. With a team that has its work cut out for them, players for most of its positions are open. And one glaring position is the guard position where Mudiay or Russell could perfectly fill in the void.
It would all depend on who the Sixer select but many believe that they will go for Mudiay. So will the Knicks pick Russell?
The Knicks aren't happy with their position, looking to beef up their frontline with either Towns or Okafor. There is talk that they could trade up to move up in the draft order but for the sake of argument, let us assume they stay where they are.
With Russell, the Knicks can get a player who will need to learn the triangle offense. This means that he doesn't necessarily have to the ball in his hands and may need to be constantly on the move to help himself and his teammates look good.
Russell is not athletic or classy, just smart. He carries a high basketball IQ which could be a good point to consider for the Knicks. In short, Russell has the brains to play the game which means he has the maturity to lead and make his teammates look good.
With that said, he could blend in perfectly with Carmelo Anthony on the court. He is a good passer, somewhat like a Chris Paul clone. So Russell may not need to look to score first but get the spheroid in the hands of his teammate for a well-oiled machine.
On defense, Russell has shown he can swipe the ball and make life miserable for opposing guards. Though the NBA is different, he can learn the ropes and adjust as he goes along the way.
In all, Russell may not be the flashy player everyone is looking for though his abilities could speak for itself. Would that pan out with the Knicks?
Considering the Knicks don't really have a steady guard right now, Russell could be that guy.
