4. Jayson Tatum (Duke, SF, 6’8″, Freshman)
Let me preface by saying Tatum is a long shot for the Knicks. He is steadily climbing up the draft board as his play improves. The Knicks may not be able to lose enough at this point to fall in range to get him.
Tatum is a silky smooth player that is very reminiscent of a young Carmelo Anthony. He can play with his back to the basket, has a strong face-up game and his jump shot is improving in consistency. Tatum has demonstrated a strong ability as a playmaker as of late. In today’s small ball game, he can easily slide in at the stretch four position as well. Tatum has good size, decent athleticism, but is not a jump out the gym athlete. This puts his defensive upside at the next level into question. He sometimes settles for difficult shots and relies too much on his dribble.
If the Knicks were in a position to pick him, it would be interesting to see if Phil pulls the plug since Tatum has similar characteristics to current star Carmelo Anthony.
