Knicks Land Kentucky Wing in Early Projection

The New York Knicks may have traded a bunch of their future draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets over the summer to acquire Mikal Bridges, but the team still has some capital to work with.

Part of their future assets include a second-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft that was originally owned by the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Knicks could look to trade the pick, but in case they don’t, Bleacher Report draft analyst Jonathan Wasserman suggests that New York could take Kentucky wing Jaxson Robinson, who was chosen with the No. 49 overall selection.

“Jaxson Robinson’s breakout at BYU drew enough NBA interest to earn him an NBA combine invite. He had some solid stretches in Chicago, too, mostly showing off his potential money-making shooting stroke,” Wasserman writes. “At 6’6″, he shot over 42.0 percent on both spot-up and off-screen threes while occasionally flashing self-creation skill into jumpers and drives. He doesn’t offer much playmaking, rim pressure or athletic pop, so he’ll look more convincing to teams if he’s closer to 40.0 percent from deep than last year’s 35.4 percent.”

In his last two seasons with BYU, Robinson averaged 11.4 points per game, moving back and forth between starter and reserve roles.

Kentucky hired BYU coach Mark Pope during the spring after John Calipari darted for Arkansas, which means Robinson should expect to be part of the Wildcats’ plans early and often this season given his familiarity with the system.

While the Knicks should be more focused on the here and now with their team, it’s important to always have an eye towards the future, and Robinson could be a surprise development project that could work in the long run if he continues to work on his game this season in Lexington.

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