What makes Vassell so attractive when he takes 8th place overall is not just his defense, but his floor in attack. Vassell was an efficient catch-and-shoot player in college. His length and point of release shouldn’t give him trouble being an effective shooter in the NBA.
Recently, a video surfaced showing Vassell making jump shots with a very different catapult-like shooting form. The video panicked analysts and fans alike.
However, we got some clarity about the video from Florida St. Charlton Young’s assistant coach, who spoke to SNY about the video:
“Vassell was joking at the end of a workout, shooting from about five paces behind the 3-point line… Since he’s firing from so far, he’s shooting him with the slingshot over his head. Because it is very deep. It was a (messy) shot in the middle of the field, “says Young.” He always had a kind of high release but he didn’t change his shot. He doesn’t take him that far.
The Knicks would obviously like to add a good perimeter shooter to their rotation. With Vassell, they could get a more prolific score than initially expected.
Project analysts are tasked with selecting weeds and applying context to potential clients before a draft. Sometimes, the college game nature (much less isolation than the NBA) and boss training can prevent a player from showing their skills.
Some famous recent examples of this are Jayson Tatum at Duke and Donovan Mitchell in Louisville. To say that Vassell will become that level of player is an unfair comparison, but when you watch his game, you can’t help but wonder if there is any untapped potential up front.
By getting Vassell the Knicks would have a highly competitive player who could help with two of the team’s biggest problems from last season: defense and perimeter shooting. Vassell would bring an exciting level of energy to the Garden that Knicks fans will love.