There’s news with J.J. Redick and the New York Knicks as the team held their first day of workouts for potential draft picks on Wednesday.
J.J. Redick‘s three-point shooting will make him a hot commodity this summer. The 32-year-old is sure to have a lot of teams interested in him, and Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical says one of those teams is the New York Knicks.
During a podcast recorded after the draft lottery, Woj stated that other than the Los Angeles Clippers Redick has drawn interest from the Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, and Philadelphia 76ers.
Woj said that the Sixers are currently in the lead for the sharpshooter. Redick would be more willing to go to one of these lowly franchises than we think as long as that team’s ready to pay up.
Sam Amick of USA Today projected Redick’s starting salary at approximately $18 million.
This scenario puts the option of a sign and trade on the table as Redick was involved in the package for Carmelo Anthony. If the veteran is interested in going to New York that could make a Clippers trade happen.
Ian Begley of ESPN New York reports that the Knicks held their first day of draft workouts.
It included five players: UNC center Tony Bradley, Arizona point guard Kobi Simmons, Florida point guard Kasey Hill, Oregon shooting guard Tyler Dorsey, and North Carolina State center Omer Yurtseven.
All five players, from major conference programs, are projected to go in the second round. The Knicks have two picks in the second round, so they need to work out a lot of prospects they’ll find in that area.
Here’s a quick summary of each prospect the Knicks saw.
Bradley: Struggled to find minutes on the best team in the country. When he played, though, he was awesome on the glass and defensively. He averaged 14.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per 40 minutes.
Simmons: Another guy who struggled to find minutes on a great team. He had a rough season, shooting sub-40 percent from the field and 32 percent from three-point range. Simmons could go undrafted. DraftExpress has him going 59th in their latest mock. D-league guy.
Hill: He’s not going to be drafted for his scoring or shooting. His four-year career averages are 7.9 PPG and 39.4 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from downtown. Yikes. The Knicks like him because he’s a table setter. He averaged 6.1 assists per 40 minutes last season.
Dorsey: He made a name for himself with an impressive run through the NCAA Tournament as a three-point shooter. Dorsey shot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc in two seasons at Oregon. If the Knicks want a knockdown shooter they can’t go wrong with him.
Yurtseven: He still hasn’t made a decision yet as to whether or not he’s going to leave or return to school. DraftExpress has him 66th in their top 100 prospects. It seems like it would be in his best interest to play another year at NC State.