SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 24: AJ Griffin #21 and Theo John #12 of the Duke Blue Devils react against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the second half in the Sweet Sixteen round game of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Chase Center on March 24, 2022 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
3 Knicks draft prospects that could be off the board at No. 11
Dyson Daniels, G League Ignite. (Photo by Darren Yamashita/USA TODAY Sports) – New York Knicks
2: Dyson Daniels
Dyson Daniels is a 19-year-old guard from Bendigo, Australia who played for the G League Ignite this past season. In 14 games, he averaged 11.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists while shooting 44.9% from the field and 25.5% from the 3-point line.
After the 2022 NBA Draft Lottery, Daniels was thought to be a “realistic” target for the Knicks, but that’s changed. In The Ringer and ESPN’s mock drafts, he was slotted to the Portland Trail Blazers at No. 7. With Damian Lillard’s continued commitment to Portland, Daniels would be a good addition.
The aspects of Daniels’ game that stands out the most are his versatility, his ball handling skills, his court vision, and his defense. He needs to improve his shot, specifically his 3-point shot, but that’s not going to hold him back from potentially being a top seven pick.
Daniels has a high upside and his understanding of the game will help him to excel at the next level. You can almost guarantee that he’ll be gone by the time that New York makes its pick at No. 11. If he isn’t on the board for Portland, that could be because the Indiana Pacers selected him at No. 6.
He recently said that his favorite team growing up was the Oklahoma City Thunder, who drafted Australian Josh Giddey at No. 6 in 2021.
The Thunder have the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft and will likely opt for Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr., or Paolo Banchero. Daniels won’t get to live out the dream of playing for his top team, but he’ll certainly have a prime opportunity to make an immediate impact at the next level. Will he be Lillard’s new right-hand man?
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Daniels was thought to be a “realistic” target for the Knicks</a>, but that’s changed. In The Ringer and ESPN’s mock drafts, he was slotted to the Portland Trail Blazers at No. 7. With Damian Lillard’s continued commitment to Portland, Daniels would be a good addition.</p>
<p>The aspects of Daniels’ game that stands out the most are his versatility, his ball handling skills, his court vision, and his defense. He needs to improve his shot, specifically his 3-point shot, but that’s not going to hold him back from potentially being a top seven pick.</p>
<p>Daniels has a high upside and his understanding of the game will help him to excel at the next level. You can almost guarantee that he’ll be gone by the time that New York makes its pick at No. 11. If he isn’t on the board for Portland, that could be because the Indiana Pacers selected him at No. 6.</p>
<p>He recently said that <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/19/3-knicks-draft-prospects-board-no-11/2/"https://twitter.com/thunderfanrylee/status/1537094025693511681" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his favorite team growing up</a> was the Oklahoma City Thunder, who drafted Australian Josh Giddey at No. 6 in 2021.</p>
<p>The Thunder have the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft and will likely opt for Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr., or Paolo Banchero. Daniels won’t get to live out the dream of playing for his top team, but he’ll certainly have a prime opportunity to make an immediate impact at the next level. Will he be Lillard’s new right-hand man?</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/19/3-knicks-draft-prospects-board-no-11/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> A Canadian prospect </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-129297" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/19/3-knicks-draft-prospects-board-no-11/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2022%2F06%2F1386334661.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks, Arizona Wildcats, Bennedict Mathurin" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/06/1386334661.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/06/1386334661-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Bennedict Mathurin, Arizona Wildcats. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) – New York Knicks</p>
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<h3>1: Bennedict Mathurin</h3>
<p>This one might sting, but it’s true. There is no chance that guard Bennedict Mathurin will hang around until the No. 11 pick. Leading up to and during March Madness, many Knicks fans identified him as their dream pick, but they’ve since turned into pipe dreams.</p>
<p>The soon-to-be 20-year-old has recently been linked to the Pacers at No. 6 and the New Orleans Pelicans at No. 8. And if he’s still on the board when the Spurs make their pick at No. 9, he’ll surely be gone by that point. In Givony’s mock draft (where he had Mathurin going to Indiana), he wrote:</p>
<blockquote class="left ampstart-left">Mathurin is drawing strong reviews on the private workout trail, excelling in competitive action, individual drills and interview sessions everywhere he’s visited thus far.
<p></p></blockquote>
<p>That gives you an insight into how he went from being selected by New York in numerous mock drafts to being far <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/19/3-knicks-draft-prospects-board-no-11/2/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/05/29/bennedict-mathurin-likely-knicks-range-no-11-2022-nba-draft/">out of the Knicks’ range leading up to the draft</a>. The 6’6” guard with a 6’9” wingspan has jumped up the board.</p>
<p>Fresh off a breakout sophomore season at Arizona, Mathurin’s proven that he isn’t afraid of the moment, which will be a huge advantage to whichever team selects him.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">"That 3-point shot to tie the game late in regulation — that is an all-time NCAA Tournament shot."</p>
<p>– <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/19/3-knicks-draft-prospects-board-no-11/2/"https://twitter.com/JonRothstein?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@JonRothstein on Ben Mathurin's clutch bucket <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/19/3-knicks-draft-prospects-board-no-11/2/"https://t.co/TsvqT0tmbM">pic.twitter.com/TsvqT0tmbM
<p>— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/19/3-knicks-draft-prospects-board-no-11/2/"https://twitter.com/CBSSportsNet/status/1505776402280456196?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>March 21, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/19/3-knicks-draft-prospects-board-no-11/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>His athleticism and ability to knock down open shots are the two things that stand out the most about him. Mathurin’s one of the best wings in the draft, if not <em>the</em> best. If his defense can get up to par, he’s going to be a force in the NBA for years to come.</p>
<p>Out of the three listed players, Griffin’s the most attainable target and he could still find a way to fall into the Knicks’ lap at No. 11. If New York’s going to trade up in the draft, it seems as if it’d most likely be into the top four for Ivey. But if that doesn’t happen and the Knicks remain where they are, fans should be hoping that Griffin’s available when New York makes its highly-anticipated selection.</p>
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