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2015 NBA Mock Draft: New York Knicks draft Duke star

By Nick Ziegler

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The New York Knicks are having an awful 2014-15 season, but luckily for the Knicks this is a year they have their draft pick. In Chad Ford’s most recent 2015 NBA Mock Draft, the Knicks will be selecting Duke center Jahlil Okafor.

If the season ended now, the Knicks would have the worst record in the NBA, which would give them a 25% chance to have the first pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.

Okafor looks to the consensus No. 1 pick this season, so the Knicks will have to have some luck on their side in order to win the lottery, and land the talented center.

It has been an impressive freshman year at Duke for Okafor, as he is averaging 18.2 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and 1.3 BPG. Okafor is a very talented offensive player, as he has a polished post game for a freshman. He also has a fairly good mid-range jump shot for a player of his size, and those offensive skills should translate to the NBA.

Okafor’s most glaring weakness is on defense, as he hasn’t shown much on the defensive end of the court in college, and sometimes looks to be a bit lazy.

The Knicks certainly have a need at center, as Cole Aldrich and Lou Amundson starting at center won’t make the Knicks a title contender, as shown this season.

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This is a crucial offseason for Phil Jackson and the Knicks, as Jackson has done a great job to create a lot of cap space to fill a roster that is depleted of talent. If Jackson walks into the No.1 pick, that will just make the Knicks’ rebuild go that much quicker, as Okafor has the capability to be a 20-10 player.

The last time the Knicks had the No.1 pick was in the 1985 draft, and they were able to get center Patrick Ewing. That obviously worked out well for the Knicks, and they will hope that they can draft another center like Ewing.

If the Knicks can draft Okafor, it will make free agency a bit easier to predict, as they wouldn’t have interest in handing center Marc Gasol a max contact. Okafor brings that franchise-type player to the Knicks, which can let Jackson fill out a roster with more complementary players rather than stars.

The Knicks keeping the worst record in the NBA seems like a reasonable thing for them, as Amar’e Stoudemire has been recently bought out of his contract. Despite playing 30 minutes in the All-Star Game, Carmelo Anthony’s season with the Knicks is winding down, as he will need to get his knee fixed.

The post-All-Star Game season for the Knicks is going to be hard to watch for fans, but with all of the losing that will be coming, it will increase their chances to draft Okafor.

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