Knicks News: Myles Powell on New York's Radar
Even though the NBA Draft is still almost four months away, the Knicks are apparently wasting no time in getting to know possible prospects of interest, including one player who local college hoops fans know all too well.
According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com, Seton Hall's Myles Powell has interviewed with the Knicks, one of somewhere between 10 and 12 teams he's met with virtually so far.
Powell and the Knicks should already be familiar with each other given their close proximity. Powell was born in Trenton, New Jersey and went on to star for Seton Hall, where he became arguably the most decorated Pirates player in the program's history. This season, he became a consensus first-team All American and won the Jerry West Award as the nation's top shooting guard.
As for the Knicks, Powell seems like someone they may look to sign as an undrafted free agent, a'la Alonzo Trier two years ago. Most big boards have Powell pegged as a player who will be left just outside of those drafted in October. Tankathon has him at 61, the Athletic's Sam Vecenie puts him 63rd, while SI's Jeremy Woo has him 66th.
Of Powell, Woo notes the following:
Powell was one of the more prolific scorers in college basketball the past two seasons and is an elite catch-and-shoot threat who has worked hard to maximize his talent. How that translates into an NBA role is less clear, given he’s not great with the ball in his hands and doesn’t have ideal size for his skill set. But his shooting percentages should climb when defenses can’t key as heavily on him, and his overall feel is pretty solid, making him a potential specialist if he starts knocking down threes at a better clip.
Woo also makes mention of Powell's outside shooting efficiency, which dipped all the way to 30.6 percent this season on 9.2 attempts per game from behind the arc.
The question is whether the Knicks should let a prolonged shooting slump influence their view of a player who was mocked in the late first round by some analysts before the season started. Powell even began this season hot, hitting 40 percent from deep over his first nine games before dipping to 25.9 percent over his final 19 contests.
The other drawback is Powell's age - he turns 23 in July - but on a team that is already one of the youngest in the NBA, taking a chance on a potential floor spacer for a dirt cheap contract might not be the worst idea in the world.
Either way, it's good to see Leon Rose and his new front office leaving no stone unturned as New York ramps up for what should be an eventful offseason.
