NBA Mock Draft 2019: The Pelicans are in the driver’s seat
R.J. Barrett. 3. player. 27. . G/F. Duke
This thing is getting out of hand. Twitter was dotted with jokes this morning about the Knicks overcomplicating things the moment they finally get into the high-lottery as a result of ESPN analyst Jonathan Givony’s report on a last-minute meeting between the Knicks and Darius Garland:
"“Darius Garland will conduct a last-minute workout in Tarrytown with the New York Knicks tomorrow, a source told ESPN. Garland is in serious consideration for the No. 3 pick. Minnesota, Boston, Chicago are teams looking at potentially trading up to No. 4 with Garland in mind.”"
You could call it posturing, as the Knicks perhaps are hoping for a rival team to shoot the moon in their offer to trade up to No. 3. Indeed, Givony later reported New York said no to an offer from Atlanta that included the eighth and 10th picks for the third pick. It’s interesting to consider the Hawks’ potential interest in Barrett here, but regardless, the Knicks declined.
This means they’re waiting on something better than Nos. 8 and 10. They’re unlikely to get it considering the abundant questions about Barrett still. Many worry about his alpha dog mentality on a team with other young players or, one day, a star in New York. It certainly hurt Duke at times, even with Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones on the court with Barrett.
Despite this late juke move, all signs still point to New York making this pick, drafting Barrett, and figuring out later how he might fit with the superteam they’re trying to assemble. This will give him a year to acclimate to the NBA taking all the shots he wants and being coached hard. Is that for the better or worse? We’ll all get to see for ourselves.