Knicks Land Spurs Young Star in Ultimate Re-Draft

The New York Knicks add one of the league's top young players in a unique exercise.

Jeremy Brener | Jul 28, 2024

Mar 25, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) dribbles in the first half against the Phoenix Suns at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports / Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

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New York Knicks

The New York Knicks and the rest of the NBA have seen droves of talent come into the league over the past few years.

Bleacher Report ran an exercise where each team had the chance to draft any player taken in 2019-23. With the No. 17 overall pick, the Knicks selected San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell.

"The 23-year-old showed plenty of shot creation while averaging 19.5 points and 4.1 assists per game last year. He can act as an ancillary ball-handler, adds spacing with 2.5 makes from deep on a 37.8 success rate over the last two seasons and can score at three levels. His deep shooting should only improve as some of the creation pressure comes off in San Antonio—or in our alternate universe, New York," Bleacher Report contributor Jay Dunbar writes. "While he isn't the Spurs' best defender and wouldn't slide into that role in N.Y., he's averaged 1.1 steals per game over the last three seasons and brings the mentality that would go a long way on Tom Thibodeau's Nova Knicks."

The Knicks aren't in any kind of position to trade for Vassell after he just recently signed an extension with the Spurs, but he would be a great player to have in New York. He would take some of the pressure to create and score off of Brunson in the backcourt and Randle in the frontcourt and make them even more multi-dimensional on offense.

No Knicks were chosen in this exercise, but Toronto Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley, who was chosen with the No. 20 overall pick, went to the Memphis Grizzlies. Quickley was with the Knicks from 2020-23 before he was dealt to the Raptors in December.

Vassell's contributions with the Knicks are divvied up by a few players, including Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges. While Vassell would be a great luxury to have, the Knicks are doing just fine without him.

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Published Jul 28, 2024

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.