New York Knicks draft profile: Gonzaga SF Corey Kispert

Corey Kispert is the undisputed king of three-point shooters in the 2021 NBA Draft. Let’s take a deep dive into the Gonzaga product’s game.

Corey Kispert is the premier three-point shooting prospect in this year’s NBA Draft. Three-point shooting is one skill that isn’t going out of style anytime soon in the modern NBA. Kispert’s shooting gravity helped Gonzaga go all the way to the National Championship before falling to Baylor.

The New York Knicks made vast improvements from behind the arc in Tom Thibodeau’s first year as head coach. With that said, teams can never have enough shooters on the roster.

New York owns the 19th, 21st, 32nd, and 58th picks in the 2021 NBA Draft. Let’s take a look at Kispert’s strengths, weaknesses, and potential fit in this Knicks draft profile.

Strengths

Catch-And-Shoot Threes

We are going to cheat a bit on Kispert’s strengths by breaking his three-point shooting into two. Kispert is as deadly as anyone from behind the arc. Defenders need to stay attached to him at all times which helps open up driving lanes.

Kispert is great on stationary catch-and-shoot opportunities, but he also has an innate feel for when and where to relocate. When bigs or guards get into the paint he always seems to find the right pocket of space to get open.

Kispert does a fantastic job of doing the work early to get his feet set. His lightning-quick release is a testament to his pre-shot work. This applies in the halfcourt and in transition. Speaking of running…

Running Off Screens

There are a lot of guys who can knock down threes off of kickouts. There aren’t many guys who can consistently drain three-pointers off of screens. Kispert is more than capable of being an elite threat when running off screens.

Think about guys like JJ Redick, Duncan Robinson, and Joe Harris who make a living off of this. Staggered screens, pindowns, dribble handoffs, etc. These types of actions are going to be perfect for Kispert at the next level. He’s just as effective off of the stationary catch as he is when he’s running off of multiple screens.

The Gonzaga product has a deep package when it comes to this aspect of his game. He’s capable of rising up to take the shot or mixing in counters. The pump-fake into a dribble to create space is a favorite move among shooters and one Kispert has in his back pocket.

It’s also worth noting that Kispert is more than just a three-point shooter. If teams are going to overcommit to running him off of the three-point line, he’s capable of getting to the rim too.

Weaknesses

Ballhandling/Shot Creation

As great as Kispert is on offense, he’s not going to have the ball in his hands a lot. He’s not going to be breaking down defenders off the dribble or leading the fast break in transition. Top-notch NBA perimeter defenders are going to give him a hard time when he’s forced to handle the ball.

Kispert is great when he is going up against a defender rushing to close out or caught behind a screen, but he doesn’t have the handle to do much more than that.

As a result, he’s going to have a tough time creating shots for himself and others. Kispert averaged 1.4 assists to 1.0 turnovers during his four years at Gonzaga.

Fit With The Knicks

Never Enough Shooting

How much shooting does an NBA team need in 2021? Yes.

It’s becoming a tired cliché at this point, but teams can’t have enough shooting in the NBA nowadays. The Knicks shot a great percentage from deep last season, but they didn’t shoot a high volume of threes. Kispert would certainly help in that regard.

His gravity as a three-point shooter would do wonders for guys like Julius Randle and RJ Barrett, both of whom are inside-out players at their core.

Draft Day Reach

Unfortunately for Knicks fans who love Kispert, it’s tough to see a scenario where he winds up in orange and blue. There’s almost no chance that he falls past pick No. 15 with his NBA-ready game.

Of course, the Knicks have the draft capital to move up into the lottery, but it’s unlikely that they make that move for a fairly one-dimensional player. Sure, Kispert looks destined to have a productive career as an NBA marksman. He just won’t be doing it for the Knicks.