Knicks projected to draft Tyler Kolek, DaRon Holmes back-to-back

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic released the first mock draft post-early-entry-deadline on June 5, projecting all first and second-round picks.

Unsurprisingly—even more considering the Knicks have two back-to-back picks at the end of the first round—Vecenie penciled in a guard and a big getting drafted by New York in late June—assuming they still have those picks and have not traded them.

After HoopsHype’s Aggregated Mock Draft featured the same type of players landing with New York at the end of May, but with different names for the No. 24 (Kel’el Ware) and No. 25 (Ryan Dunn) picks, Vecenie thinks Marquette guard Tyler Kolek and Dayton big DaRon Holmes are the two players most likely to end up drafted by the Knicks.

Interestingly enough, HoopsHype’s version of the draft might be closer to reality following the news of Dunn’s visit to the Knicks facilities on June 5 for a workout with New York ahead of the draft. Vecenie seemingly isn’t so high on Dunn, however, as he has the Virginia guard falling off the first round and into the second and getting drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the No. 33 pick.

24. (G) Tyler Kolek — Marquette

Vecenie highlights Kolek’s standout season at Marquette last year, even though he suffered an oblique injury leaving him out of the Big East tourney and limiting him to 31 games last year.

Already an “old” prospect, Kolek turned 23 last March. He put up 15.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 7.7 APG through his senior year, and he comes with a packed resume full of awards and accolades.

Kolek exploded onto the scene before suffering an oblique injury that held him out the Big East tournament. From Jan. 15 until Feb. 25, Marquette went 10-1 as Kolek averaged 16.9 points and 9.6 assists per game while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3. In total, Kolek rightfully won All-American honors on his way to 15.3 points and 7.7 assists per game.

Vecenie considers Kolek a skilled guard and an elite distributor. He also comes with 3-point-shooting upside, bagging 38.8 percent of his long-range shots last year and 49.5 percent of all his shots from the floor. Kolek. however, needs to improve his defensive chops, which might not convince Thibs entirely.

Kolek is a crafty guard. I’m not convinced he can even dunk, but he knows exactly how to play off two feet and is an elite distributor in ball screens. He made a big leap as a shooter this past season, drilling 38.8 percent from 3 while looking much more confident pulling up when opportunities arose. Kolek must prove he has the foot speed to hold up on defense in the NBA, and he’ll need to prove he can create separation with the ball in his hands against better defenders. But any team looking for a backup guard could plug Kolek in early.

25. (C) DaRon Holmes — Dayton

Holmes is bolting out of Dayton one year before graduating, having spent three seasons with the Flyers before entering the draft. Don’t get that wrong, though. Holmes started from day one in Dayton and has played 102 (starting all of them) games since hitting the school back in 2021.

At the end of the day, having earned All-American honors as a junior this season, it’s safer for him to turn pro now than risk anything by staying put in college for another year, so there’s that. Holmes is coming off putting up 20.4 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.6 APG, 0.9 SPG, and 2.1 BPG while shooting 54.4 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from three.

Holmes had an outstanding season at Dayton, winning All-American honors by averaging 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.1 blocks while hitting 54.4 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from 3. He’s a versatile big who has a lot of answers for opponents’ ball-screen coverages. He can pick-and-pop, short roll to pass, short roll to finish himself or dive all the way to the rim to catch a lob. Defensively, he’s a good shot blocker and has flashed potential to stick with guards for a couple of slides on the perimeter.

The Knicks are likely to trade at least one of their three picks in the top 40 (New York has the No. 24, No. 25, and No. 38) but if they keep at least one of those first-round picks it could make sense for them to add some size, potentially by drafting Holmes or someone of the like, perhaps Zach Edey or Kel’el Ware depending on availability.

The Knicks are another team likely to trade at least one of their three picks in the top 40. In the past, the Knicks have tried to add future draft picks to create more potential avenues to complete trades. Don’t be surprised to see them try to extend these assets further out into the future again.