He's not a reach in the first round- 15-20, maybe.

The Kentucky kids bought into the team concept- all these guys gave up parts of their game for the team, it would seem.

Wish he was a better jump shooter, but maybe he just never had as much opportunities at KU to develop a good rhythm,

The end of the most recent DX scouting report would make you want to be cautious with drafting him too early.

The biggest questions about Lyles as a NBA prospect likely revolve around his defense, which was considered a major weakness going into college. This is where playing out of position on the perimeter may have helped him the most, as it forced him to work hard on his ability to stay in front of smaller players, instead of being able to hide at the center position like he almost certainly would have on pretty much any other team.

Lyles did a decent job considering the circumstances, but wasn't immune to getting blown by badly on the perimeter at times, looking very hunched over in his stance. He accumulated a very low amount of blocks and steals—the biggest indicators we have for athleticism—posting under one block and one steal per-40 minutes, which is extremely low for a player with his length. It's easy to write that off due to playing at small forward, but Lyles wasn't very good in those areas in the 1800+ minutes of non-Kentucky action we have logged in other settings (FIBA, EYBL, Adidas Nations), posting one steal and 1.2 blocks per-40 there.

On the interior, Lyles is far from perfect as well, as he has a tendency to give up deep post-position and shows average toughness fighting with stronger players inside the paint. Since he's unlikely to be a rim-protector due to his lack of lift, and doesn't sport great lateral quickness, he'll have to show better effort, fundamentals and awareness here than he has over the course of his career to not be a negative on this side of the floor. His long wingspan, and the season he played under John Calipari, should help him somewhat. This is yet another area that NBA teams will want to study closely in private workouts.

Lyles is somewhat of a divisive prospect among NBA scouts. He has some very obvious tools, with his size, length, high skill-level and strong feel for the game, but wasn't overly productive (15.5 points, 9.3 rebounds per-40) or efficient (55% TS%) in college, which is easy to understand due to the circumstances. Power forwards who aren't great perimeter shooters, athletes or shot-blockers are not the most en vogue players in today's NBA, so he'll have to be drafted into the right situation with the understanding of what his strengths and weaknesses are to reach his full potential. Nevertheless, only being 19 years old, time is clearly on Lyles' side.

Hopefully he is one of many players that will be thrown out there as NY look at picking players after they make a deal.

Strengths: Has good size, strength, and an excellent frame ... Great length (nearly 7’4 wingspan) ... Very smooth player with good touch ... Improving conditioning ... Good physical tools ... Nice upper body strength ... High basketball IQ ... Knows when to cut to the basket and when to drift out to the perimeter for an open shot ... Does the little things well and hustles ... Fundamentally sound ... Sets solid screens for teammates ... Versatile and a do-it-all player ... Can score from numerous spots on the floor ... Smooth offensive game ...Very skilled player on offense ... Can score the ball in a multitude of ways from inside or outside ... Good (but not great) outside shooter ... Nice form on his jumper ... Capable of knocking down open 3-pointers and can space the floor ... High release point on jump shot ... Great spot up shooter and can pull up from mid-range ... At his best offensively when’s he’s in the post/paint ... Displays polished footwork, good body control, and a soft touch around the rim … Patient on offense ... Has a variety of post up and face up moves ... Can score with his back to the basket ... Possesses an effective spin move ... Able to finish at the rim through contact ... Can score with jump hooks and mid-range jumpers (15 to 18 feet from basket) ... Capable of scoring with both hands ... Savvy shot creator off the dribble/can put the ball on the floor ... Attacks the basket well when bigger/slower players are defending him on the perimeter ...Willing passer with good court vision and feel for the game ... Effective passer out of the post and out of dribble drive penetration ... Has shown that he could be a good ball handler and distributor from both forward spots ... Active and aggressively goes after defensive and offensive boards ... Can rebound in traffic ... Runs the floor will in transition ... His length allows him to bother shooters on the perimeter and force them into bad shots ... Can be versatile on the defensive end in terms of guarding more than one position ... Plays physical, tough, and is reliable and a hard worker ...

Weaknesses: Does not do one thing at an elite level ... Not a high flyer. A smooth athlete, but not very explosive ... Remains to be seen, but could potentially be relegated to a stretch 4 at the next level because of his lack of explosiveness ... Not especially quick, lacks speed ... Needs to improve his on-ball defense ... Does not possess great lateral quickness, which results in him getting beat off the bounce too often ... Struggles with defending quicker players ... Not overly athletic (for NBA’s standards) ... Inconsistent and struggles from the 3-point line (currently shooting 13 percent) ... Does not overmatch anyone on offense with the strength he has ... Needs to add more strength to his build and bulk up ... Slow-footed … Is not known for his shot blocking/rim protecting abilities … Does not have the abilities to be a good individual defender right now, especially in space ... Does not come up with many steals ... Average low post and perimeter defender ... Was asked to play as a 3 for much of the time, which played to his strengths as a face up scorer, but didn't help to improve upon his back to the basket skills ...

Notes: Although he’s sometimes Kentucky’s forgotten man and most underrated player, NBA talent evaluators know the potential he possesses ... The former Mr. Indiana Basketball has an old man’s game, but would most certainly be racking up double-doubles for any other school that is not loaded with front court players like the Wildcats ... Lyles is gifted offensively, and is very productive as a post player even though he’s played out of position (at the 3 instead of the 4) for most of the year ... It may be easy to forget because he’s surrounded by so much size, but he is a 6-foot-10 235-pounder who can handle the ball, is a good passer, and can knock down shots from various spots on the floor, though he does not hit 3-pointers consistently yet ... His overall season averages do not jump out at you (8.7 points on 49 percent shooting, 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists), but he’s been a key part of Kentucky’s success despite not getting the national recognition as some of his teammates ... Ballooned in weight in the summer between his junior and senior seasons of high school ...

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/trey-lyles

They seem to like him much more than draft express

smackeddog wrote:

Strengths: Has good size, strength, and an excellent frame ... Great length (nearly 7’4 wingspan) ... Very smooth player with good touch ... Improving conditioning ... Good physical tools ... Nice upper body strength ... High basketball IQ ... Knows when to cut to the basket and when to drift out to the perimeter for an open shot ... Does the little things well and hustles ... Fundamentally sound ... Sets solid screens for teammates ... Versatile and a do-it-all player ... Can score from numerous spots on the floor ... Smooth offensive game ...Very skilled player on offense ... Can score the ball in a multitude of ways from inside or outside ... Good (but not great) outside shooter ... Nice form on his jumper ... Capable of knocking down open 3-pointers and can space the floor ... High release point on jump shot ... Great spot up shooter and can pull up from mid-range ... At his best offensively when’s he’s in the post/paint ... Displays polished footwork, good body control, and a soft touch around the rim … Patient on offense ... Has a variety of post up and face up moves ... Can score with his back to the basket ... Possesses an effective spin move ... Able to finish at the rim through contact ... Can score with jump hooks and mid-range jumpers (15 to 18 feet from basket) ... Capable of scoring with both hands ... Savvy shot creator off the dribble/can put the ball on the floor ... Attacks the basket well when bigger/slower players are defending him on the perimeter ...Willing passer with good court vision and feel for the game ... Effective passer out of the post and out of dribble drive penetration ... Has shown that he could be a good ball handler and distributor from both forward spots ... Active and aggressively goes after defensive and offensive boards ... Can rebound in traffic ... Runs the floor will in transition ... His length allows him to bother shooters on the perimeter and force them into bad shots ... Can be versatile on the defensive end in terms of guarding more than one position ... Plays physical, tough, and is reliable and a hard worker ...

Weaknesses: Does not do one thing at an elite level ... Not a high flyer. A smooth athlete, but not very explosive ... Remains to be seen, but could potentially be relegated to a stretch 4 at the next level because of his lack of explosiveness ... Not especially quick, lacks speed ... Needs to improve his on-ball defense ... Does not possess great lateral quickness, which results in him getting beat off the bounce too often ... Struggles with defending quicker players ... Not overly athletic (for NBA’s standards) ... Inconsistent and struggles from the 3-point line (currently shooting 13 percent) ... Does not overmatch anyone on offense with the strength he has ... Needs to add more strength to his build and bulk up ... Slow-footed … Is not known for his shot blocking/rim protecting abilities … Does not have the abilities to be a good individual defender right now, especially in space ... Does not come up with many steals ... Average low post and perimeter defender ... Was asked to play as a 3 for much of the time, which played to his strengths as a face up scorer, but didn't help to improve upon his back to the basket skills ...

Notes: Although he’s sometimes Kentucky’s forgotten man and most underrated player, NBA talent evaluators know the potential he possesses ... The former Mr. Indiana Basketball has an old man’s game, but would most certainly be racking up double-doubles for any other school that is not loaded with front court players like the Wildcats ... Lyles is gifted offensively, and is very productive as a post player even though he’s played out of position (at the 3 instead of the 4) for most of the year ... It may be easy to forget because he’s surrounded by so much size, but he is a 6-foot-10 235-pounder who can handle the ball, is a good passer, and can knock down shots from various spots on the floor, though he does not hit 3-pointers consistently yet ... His overall season averages do not jump out at you (8.7 points on 49 percent shooting, 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists), but he’s been a key part of Kentucky’s success despite not getting the national recognition as some of his teammates ... Ballooned in weight in the summer between his junior and senior seasons of high school ...

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/trey-lyles

They seem to like him much more than draft express

I watched him, and I know he plays on a team with a lot of good players, but IMO he never showed anything that would warrant being picked #8.

They actually give him a score of 95 in their rating system,

I guess certain folks are seeing things about his game that I'm not able to notice.

CrushAlot wrote:

crzymdups wrote:This is one of the more terrifying articles about Phil Jackson I've read yet.

Remember it is Isola.

He's a cynic, but I feel like he's not always wrong. Sigh. We will see.

Honestly it's impossible to rate how he'd do at PF with the way Kentucky played him, so I have no idea how to feel about this other than worrying it's a massive mistake.

Trey Lyles flew under the radar for much of Kentucky's dominant season, and he could wind up outperforming most of his mid-first-round peers, if not all of them.

His polish and fluidity as a 6'10" teenager are phenomenal. He already shows good footwork, awareness and touch around the rim. And he possesses the agility and shooting talent to become a perimeter threat. Lyles' range doesn't truly extend beyond the three-point line yet, but his form and delivery suggest he'll get there.

He's slotted behind fellow Wildcats Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein on every mock draft, yet he's more refined offensively than both of them.

As his versatility continues to blossom, he's going to be a tough matchup for any opponent. Lyles' skill set and instincts away from the ball could make him a steal.

There are understandable doubts about his defense, because he didn't shine on that end in Lexington. But those questions should be limited to his decision-making and fundamentals, not his athleticism or physical capability. Lyles isn't explosive, but he's bouncy enough to be an effective 4-man stopper.

WaltLongmire wrote:

crzymdups wrote:This is one of the more terrifying articles about Phil Jackson I've read yet.

I would be worried that Phil is in some kind of "'I'll show you guys and the world that I'm right"...mindset, where he feels determined to do his thing and take a chance of a player nobody else feels is worthy of the 4th pick.

The Tweets he's made about the right way to play the game may be true at times, but it would also indicate that he may be feeling insecure, and therefore feels a need to justify his BB philosophy.

Historically, especially in regard to the evolution of science, established scientists whose theories were once accepted as gospel, have not moved aside gracefully as newer ideas and theories have disproved and replaced the things they had dedicated their lives to.

I hope Jackson is not thinking of taking a player just to prove his way of thinking about the game is the right way.

This is the quote from the article:

The Knicks scouted Kentucky extensively during the season. Jackson even made a trip to Lexington to see John Calipari’s team practice, and the word from people associated with the Wildcats is that the Knicks were impressed with Lyles.

Is Lyles the only player he mentioned? Was he simply one of 5 or 6 players Phil was complimenting? We've already heard reports that he liked Stein.

Who are these "people associated with the Wildcats?"

Why would Isola be putting this out now?

Not sure if this quote, nor the article, is significant. Topics to write about for a Knicks beat writer are not abundant- Isola might simply be making a mountain out of a mole hill.