Position: PG (Iowa State)
Age: 20
Height: 6 ft 5 in
Weight: 175 lbs
Wingspan: 6 ft 8 in

The Sales Pitch: In an age where smart decisions and production consistently win over theoretical talent, it would be malpractice to pass on the kid who, among the lottery guards, is the best spot-up shooter, the best finisher, one of the best passers, and easily the best decision maker on both ends. Stop worrying about how guys get to their results and focus more on the results: the kid can get buckets, can dime off and make his team better, can defend on and off ball, is switchable, and hardly ever makes mistakes. Also, there is more upside than people would like to admit: even if he doesn’t shoot off the dribble (and there’s about as good a chance he can improve his form/feet for that as there is a chance some of this bad draft’s shooters become good ones), it is likely that he improves his handle to the point where he can still drive more often and leverage his great pick-and-roll vision.

Check out The Strickland’s 2020 NBA Draft Big Board here!

Elite Traits/Skills: Assist to turnover ratio/decision making, spot-up shooting

The Devil’s Advocate Argument: Just like Lonzo Ball was an engine point guard in college and couldn’t replicate that in the NBA, Haliburton is a combo guard who will be less useful in the NBA than in college. He is a guard who can only hit stationary threes, who never ventures into the paint, and was fifth in his own team in usage: does that sound like a lead guard, or a weirdly passive 2 guard? When he runs a pick-and-roll in the NBA, his defender will either: 1) go under and dare him to hit an off the dribble three, which he is horrible at, or 2) go over the screen while the screen defender drops, and Hali is completely neutralized since he can’t shoot off the dribble, never shoots at the rim, and doesn’t command double teams. Being pass-first, -second, and -third doesn’t really work in the NBA, as we saw when Frank was 19 years old. Oh, he has no left hand, either. Lastly, did I mention he’s an overrated defender? Great team help defense guy, but he’s not gonna bother strong guards or wings.

The Misconceptions: That he is a great shooter, or a horrible shooter. He’s mostly just a weird shooter. He is elite off the catch (99th percentile!) with range, and he is a flat-out terrible shooter in any other situation.

Important Numbers:

• 28%: Off the dribble FG%

• 99th percentile: Rank shooting catch-and-shoot threes over two college seasons

• 5.8% : His tremendous combined steal and block rate

• 80%: Percentage of his 3-point shots which were assisted — a number more in line with shooters who can’t get their own shot, rather than players who are expected to dribble the ball

• 69%: FG% near the rim, on the rare instance where he went there

• .13: His historically bad free throw rate

• 2: Number of left hand finishes he had this season. The whole season!

Knicks Fit: Would undoubtedly be a useful player, but if he has to be a point guard, his role will negate a lot of his strengths and amplify his weaknesses. If they can slot him in at the 2 guard alongside RJB at the 3 and a true lead guard at the 1, the fit becomes much better; he would help space the floor, improve team defense, and improve team-wide ball movement.

Educate yourself on some other potential Knicks: Killian Hayes, LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, Onyeka Okongwu, Devin Vassell, Isaac Okoro, Patrick Williams, Grant Riller, Obi Toppin, Aleksej Pokusevski, Deni Avdija, Kira Lewis Jr., Tyrese Maxey