Knicks Draft Options: Tyrese Haliburton

If the Knicks are looking for an attacking midfielder who can also shoot from the perimeter, perhaps Tyrese Haliburton is their best option, assuming he is still available at eight.

The Iowa State product offers size – standing 1.8 to 5 – high IQ for basketball, off-pick-and-roll directing capability, and efficient three-point shooting.

The Stepien projects him as a top of the rotation, “elite glue guy” at the high end. Worse still, they see him as a strong first guard from the bench. Of course, when selecting the lottery, the scouts of the team will bet on their ability to extract the best from the 20-year-old guard.

Haliburton scored an average of 15.2 points in 22 games during the shortened college season. Most impressive, he upped his deep-sea shooting volume, after attempting 3.2 three in his freshman season, pitched 5.6 per game this year, keeping his accuracy at 41.9%.

The most exciting thing about Haliburton is his ability to defend in a system, something that should be very tempting for new Knicks manager Tom Thibodeau. While not the greatest 1-on-1 defender, he plays basketball wisely, rarely skipping a rotation and executing team patterns, which would be a welcome addition to the Knicks roster under the new manager.

The Knicks are in dire need of an overhead guard who can shoot and play a stellar defense alongside RJ Barrett. Haliburton might be the best option.