Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Knicks Look at Point Guard Wolters; Taylor Up Next
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — In their ideal world, the Knicks will add a big man and a point guard in next week’s NBA Draft.
They currently own the No. 24 pick and could potentially also purchase a second-rounder, too.
On Tuesday, they looked at several more options, including South Dakota State point guard Nate Wolters, and Louisville big man Gorgui Dieng.
The 6-foot-4 Wolters is considered a level below the four elite point guards in the draft — Trey Burke of Michigan, C.J. McCollum of Lehigh, Michael Carter-Williams of Syracuse and Shane Larkin of Miami — and will likely still be on the board in the second round.
Burke, McCollum, Carter-Williams and Larkin all figure to be long gone when the Knicks pick, while Wolters is projected as the No. 39 overall pick by DraftExpress.com.
“I really like the city and it’d be a dream come true to play in the Garden,” Wolters said of potentially playing for the Knicks. “It’s one of the best arenas in all of basketball. I’ve never been there, but it’d be cool to play here 41 games a year.
“Definitely, this would be a great fit. I know Jason Kidd just retired and they got Raymond Felton at point guard, but that seems like a need of theirs. I definitely feel I can add to it and hopefully I have the opportunity.”
Wolters was forced to be a scorer at South Dakota State, averaging 22.3 points, 5.8 assists and 5.6 rebounds last season, but said he will be more of a facilitator in the NBA.
“I think I’m more of a facilitator than a scorer, really,” Wolters said. “Just out of necessity it was for me to score in college, so I had to put up a lot of shots, but I think my natural position is just a passing point guard who makes players around me better.”
Questions remain about Wolters’ foot speed and defensive abilities, but he says he proved that he can play defense in college and will do so at the next level, too.
“I think I showed that in the season a little bit when we played the top guys, like Trey Burke [of Michigan], I was able to keep him in front,” said Wolters, who helped limit the National Player of the Year to six points on 2-of-12 shooting in the NCAA Tournament. “That’s something I’ll continue to work on. Defense is more just an effort thing and toughness, so I’m going to bring that.”
TAYLOR ON TAP FOR THURSDAYTony Taylor, a 6-foot-1 Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., native and former George Washington guard, will work out Thursday for the Knicks.
Taylor is at the Orlando Magic free agent mini-camp Wednesday. He will play for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Orlando summer league and for the Miami Heat in the Vegas summer league, his agent, B.J. Bass, told SNY.tv.
He spent last year with Tulsa of the NBA D-League, averaging 7.0 points and 3.2 assists in 50 games. In five playoff games, he averaged 11.2 points and 5.4 assists.
“He’s right there,” Bass said. “He wasn’t really on the radar coming out of school. Now, he’s right in the mix. I think that Orlando is very serious about him, OKC is serious about him, the Heat are serious about him. I think some in the Knicks organization like him.”
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — In their ideal world, the Knicks will add a big man and a point guard in next week’s NBA Draft.
They currently own the No. 24 pick and could potentially also purchase a second-rounder, too.
On Tuesday, they looked at several more options, including South Dakota State point guard Nate Wolters, and Louisville big man Gorgui Dieng.
The 6-foot-4 Wolters is considered a level below the four elite point guards in the draft — Trey Burke of Michigan, C.J. McCollum of Lehigh, Michael Carter-Williams of Syracuse and Shane Larkin of Miami — and will likely still be on the board in the second round.
Burke, McCollum, Carter-Williams and Larkin all figure to be long gone when the Knicks pick, while Wolters is projected as the No. 39 overall pick by DraftExpress.com.
“I really like the city and it’d be a dream come true to play in the Garden,” Wolters said of potentially playing for the Knicks. “It’s one of the best arenas in all of basketball. I’ve never been there, but it’d be cool to play here 41 games a year.
“Definitely, this would be a great fit. I know Jason Kidd just retired and they got Raymond Felton at point guard, but that seems like a need of theirs. I definitely feel I can add to it and hopefully I have the opportunity.”
Wolters was forced to be a scorer at South Dakota State, averaging 22.3 points, 5.8 assists and 5.6 rebounds last season, but said he will be more of a facilitator in the NBA.
“I think I’m more of a facilitator than a scorer, really,” Wolters said. “Just out of necessity it was for me to score in college, so I had to put up a lot of shots, but I think my natural position is just a passing point guard who makes players around me better.”
Questions remain about Wolters’ foot speed and defensive abilities, but he says he proved that he can play defense in college and will do so at the next level, too.
“I think I showed that in the season a little bit when we played the top guys, like Trey Burke [of Michigan], I was able to keep him in front,” said Wolters, who helped limit the National Player of the Year to six points on 2-of-12 shooting in the NCAA Tournament. “That’s something I’ll continue to work on. Defense is more just an effort thing and toughness, so I’m going to bring that.”
TAYLOR ON TAP FOR THURSDAY
Tony Taylor, a 6-foot-1 Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., native and former George Washington guard, will work out Thursday for the Knicks.
Taylor is at the Orlando Magic free agent mini-camp Wednesday. He will play for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Orlando summer league and for the Miami Heat in the Vegas summer league, his agent, B.J. Bass, told SNY.tv.
He spent last year with Tulsa of the NBA D-League, averaging 7.0 points and 3.2 assists in 50 games. In five playoff games, he averaged 11.2 points and 5.4 assists.
“He’s right there,” Bass said. “He wasn’t really on the radar coming out of school. Now, he’s right in the mix. I think that Orlando is very serious about him, OKC is serious about him, the Heat are serious about him. I think some in the Knicks organization like him.”
