NBA Mock Draft 7.0: Is LaMelo Ball destined to join the New York Knicks?

Who the Knicks’ select will obviously depend a lot on where they land in the NBA Draft Lottery but the more options that are available to them, the more probable it seems that they end up with LaMelo Ball. In May, Marc Berman reported that the Knicks had him as the top point guard on their draft board, a fact that he mentions again in a separate report in early July. In theory, the new front office is a blank slate with its own decision-making processes but it’s hard to separate the near-future Knicks from their legacy of obsession with shiny objects.

Projections of Ball’s ceiling may vary, but he’s definitely the shiniest prospect in the draft, coming with far more name recognition than Anthony Edwards, Onyeka Okongwu or Killian Hayes. His path to the NBA Draft means his skill set is still something of a black box but his hypothetical NBA role — primary wing creator with a bent towards facilitation — has plenty of overlap with R.J. Barrett. There’s a world where they work perfectly together, creating a large backcourt of complementary playmaking and scoring. There’s also a world where their styles clash too much, weaknesses exacerbating weaknesses instead of the other way around. Maybe the Knicks are ready to turn over a new leaf, but the Knicks of the past decade would leap at the chance to try Ball and Barrett together and see what happens.

Learn more about LaMelo Ball with our full scouting report.