2018 Orlando Magic NBA Draft Preview: Who is Kevin Knox?

The Bad

Kevin Knox is an interesting physical package. And he has put together a solid reel of highlights. But he is still an incomplete player in a lot of ways. Knox does not have a lot of consistency working in the half court or breaking defenders off the dribble.

Knox displays his athleticism in space really well, but tighten up on him and he tends to settle and make quick, sometimes rushed decisions.

He has a limited amount of dribble moves and tends to use them to create space for mid-range jumpers rather than getting to the basket. If Knox is not already going downhill, he is not likely going to get to the basket. That leaves him shooting a lot more inefficient shots.

Knox’s play style suggests someone who should have the ball in his hands a lot more. He is likely to take a shot when he attacks. If the play is drawn for him, it seems like he is going to take his shot. And the shot selection is not always going to be great.

Knox probably projects more as a 3-and-D wing type player. And that does not work best with his skill set.

While Knox can hit 3-pointers when open, he is not an overly reliable 3-point shooter. He made just 34.1 percent of his outside shots.

His shooting motion also is not particularly encouraging. He starts the ball kind of low and that leads to a slow release. Longer defenders might be able to bother him or close out on his shot before he can get it up.

That will be something he has to continue to improve. That mid-range game is not good enough to rely upon fully.

And despite all his athleticism and his decent build and wingspan, he is still not a great defender. He was fine for college — a 1.4 defensive box plus-minus according to Sports-Reference — but it does not project well to the NBA level.

That begins to ruin that potential 3-and-D role for him. And begs the question of what role does he play?

Knox has athleticism and can attack in the open court, but finding an actual tangible NBA skill for him right now is a bit of a stretch. Teams will have to be patient with his development as he rounds his game into form.