The New York Knicks might have made the steal of the draft as their second round pick continues to impress

As the New York Knicks get ready for a season headlined by the star duo of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, their preseason games show that they also made a nice draft selection in the second round. As noted by StatMuse on X, New York Knicks 2024 second round pick Tyler Kolek put up 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists in the team's preseason win over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday, just the latest in a string of impressive performances dating back to Summer League.

In the two previous games that Kolek played before this matchup against the Hornets, the 34th overall pick scored 11 points and 15 points on 60 percent shooting in both games. The Knicks selected the former Marquette point guard in the second round after making a flurry of trades that resulted in the franchise moving up and down the late part of the first.

While it's severely complicated, New York officially acquired the basketball rights to Kolek after the squad traded three second-round picks and Dani Diez (who is likely a top-700 player in his own right but will probably never come over to the NBA). With the Knicks basically acquiring Kolek for nothing, it's fair to say that Leon Rose and Co. might have made the steal of the draft if the point guard sticks in the rotation during the regular season

The Knicks might have made the steal of the draft with their second-round selection

While Kolek might not play a ton of minutes for a contending New York team this season, it's possible that the former Big East star could play his way into the back-end of the rotation. The guard could fill in some minutes behind Brunson as a facilitator with some off-the-bounce juice, with New York possibly dangling him in trade talks if they need to find a backup center midseason.

Of course, the guard could end up playing fewer minutes than he might deserve as head coach Tom Thibodeau historically doesn't love playing rookies. Still, his preseason play has showed that he could be the steal of the draft with the Knicks getting a huge boost in their backcourt this season.