2022 NBA Draft Profile: Dyson Daniels
Perhaps the best defender in the draft, could the lengthy Dyson Daniels give the Knicks the solution they’ve needed at point guard for years, or is he simply going to be a lockdown NBA defender?
Position: G, G League Ignite
Age: 19
Height: 6 ft 8 in
Wingspan: 6 ft 11 in
Weight: 180 lbs
The Sales Pitch: He played point guard for Australia, and then for the Ignite. He played off-ball as well. He’s the best defender on the Ignite and arguably the best defender among first round prospects. He grew two inches, this year. He sees the game well, and is never sped up on either end. His biggest question mark was his jump shot, and he ended the season shooting around 45% from three in his last ten games. He has an elite floater, even more reason to buy his jumper moving forward. The floor for him is a Alex Caruso type, 3/D/passing rotation menace. The ceiling? A legitimate plus-passing 6-foot-8 point guard who you can also stick on the opponent’s best non-center player. Does that sound like something you might be interested in?
Elite Traits/Skills: Perimeter defense
The Devil’s Advocate Argument: There is still plenty of reason to worry about his jump shot, and he kind of needs it to make the theory of Dyson work in reality. As a point guard he could get it done in the G League, but he doesn’t really put pressure on the rim, so barring some real jump-shooting improvement, he won’t be a point guard. And while he could still be a Caruso- or Josh Hart-type connector with a shaky jumper due to his athleticism and passing and defense, is that really what you’re looking for from a lotto pick? Couldn’t be me…
The Misconceptions: He has to be a point guard because he has only been a point guard. Or because Josh Giddey is a point guard. Just like with Lonzo Ball, there is a good chance that Dyson is best suited as not the primary initiator on a good team, but instead as someone who turbocharges the offense and defense by doing all the little things, rather than breaking down defenses.
Important Numbers:
32%: His FG% on jump shots this season
45%: His FG% on 3-point shots in the last eight games
46%: His FG% on runners
.25: His free throw rate
5%: His combined steal plus block rate
18/5/4: What Dyson put up vs. Chet Holmgren and Jaden Ivey in the FIBA U19 match vs. Team USA.
Knicks Fit: He'd be the Knicks’ best and most versatile perimeter defender from Day 1, as someone more well suited to defend the bigger wings of the league than RJ or Quentin Grimes. He’d also, like Obi Toppin and Grimes, add some “connective passing” – i.e., smart passing from players who might get the ball mid-play rather than at the beginning of a play. The Knicks severely lack those sort of two-way players who can turbo charge a team through athleticism, passing, and defense. He’d also give some sneaky upside to our stable of youngsters if he could learn to leverage his size to drive more, something the Knicks were doing early on with the similarly-sized Cam Reddish.
