New York Knicks Rumors: Will they draft Trey Lyles?

One of the latest New York Knicks rumors is regarding their possible plans for the NBA Draft.

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A new player has emerged as a possibility for the Knicks with the fourth pick or a possibly trade down in the NBA Draft.

The Knicks will likely be missing out on Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, and D’Angelo Russell, which effects their original plan. According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, the Knicks could be looking at 6-foot-10 forward Trey Lyles from Kentucky.

Drafting Lyles with the fourth pick in the NBA Draft would be a bit of a stretch, but players rise on team’s boards all the time. Knicks’ President Phil Jackson has certainly seen his fair share of Kentucky games and practices this season watching Towns, and Lyles may have impressed him as well.

Lyles was one of the talented freshman on Kentucky, and at times looked like their most un-guardable player with his speed and size. At Kentucky, Lyles played a good amount at the small forward position with Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein at power forward and center. At the small forward, Lyles show great ability to back down smaller defenders and get easy shots around the rim.

Last season, Lyles averaged 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. With Kentucky’s talented team, Lyles’ averages were clearly not where they could have been elsewhere, as he played just 23 minutes per game.

Lyles does have some areas that he can improve, which is why he hasn’t been expected to be a Top-5 pick. With his size and speed he can improve as a defensive player, as at Kentucky he averaged less than a block and steal per game.

There have been a lot of rumors surrounding what the Knicks may do in the NBA Draft, but most of them seem to be selecting big men. There is a possibility that Towns or Okafor could slide to them in the slight chance that the Lakers draft Russell. The 76ers hold the third pick in the draft, and will almost surely be looking to select a point guard after drafting Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid in back-to-back drafts.

It would be tough to imagine the Lakers passing on either Towns or Okafor, which is why the Knicks are scrambling to make a plan. Lyles can most likely be drafted later in the lottery, as the likelihood of the Knicks trading down continues to be a strong possibility.

Lyles has a lot of positives to his game, but selecting him with the fourth-overall pick would be a bit of a stretch for the Knicks.

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