COURT KNOX
CAMDEN, N.J. — During his workout 10 days ago, Kentucky freshman forward Kevin Knox believes he showed the Knicks staff plenty of reasons to draft him ninth Thursday night.
He isn’t the only one. Wildcats coach John Calipari said teams will regret passing on Knox, and compared him to one of this season’s Rookie of the Year candidates.
Calipari brought up Celtics stud rookie Jayson Tatum, whose toughness was questioned heading into last year’s draft. That’s a criticism also heard about Knox, who did not show enough defense at Kentucky.
“I never knew [Tatum] had that kind of toughness in him,’’ Calipari said on a conference call Tuesday. “What I saw [with Boston] he never showed in college. Now you have a skilled, long, tough player who’s a future All-Star. Kevin falls into that same mode right now.”
And according to Calipari’s crystal ball, there is going to be regret among NBA teams in the seasons ahead.
“Teams are going to say two years from now: Why would we have passed on him?” Calipari predicted.
If Trae Young isn’t on the board, the Knicks have to decide between the proven commodity of Villanova’s Mikal Bridges, who still appears to be the favorite, and the riskier Knox.
In Knox’s first comments about the Knicks, he confirmed he got loads of positive feedback from the coaches after going against lottery candidate Miles Bridges and others at the team’s practice facility. One source familiar with the workout said the 6-foot-9 Knox “kicked [Bridges] around.’’
But Knox is taking no chances, and visited the 76ers’ new training headquarters Tuesday for a second get-together with the team. The Sixers, who have the No. 10 pick, could seek to trade up a notch for the 18-year-old if they are fearful the Knicks will pass on Bridges and take Knox.
The Sixers can offer the Knicks draft picks (Philadelphia has six Thursday — Nos. 10 and 26 and four in the second round.)
Alex Rucker, the Sixers’ director of analytics and strategy, said he’s unsure if Knox will be on the board when they pick.
“He’s a very talented modern NBA wing, 6-9, fluid, shot the ball great,’’ Rucker said. “In the modern game, Kevin can play two, three positions, [shooting guard, small forward, power forward].”
The second invite from the Sixers has Knox figuring they are hot for him. He participated in a group workout with Philadelphia last week. Tuesday’s was a short solo workout with just shooting and ball-handling.
“Coach [Brett] Brown called my agent after the first workout and said he wanted to spend more time with me,” Knox said. “If he wanted me to come back, it shows a lot of interest in me.’’
Regarding the three-on-three skirmish that helped put Knox back on the Knicks’ radar, he said he was told he won the battle. But ever the diplomat, Knox praised Bridges, whom he also faced in a Clippers workout.
“In the Knicks workout, I was really good,’’ Knox said. “Good competition — me, Miles Bridges [Michigan State], Zhaire Smith [Texas Tech], Bruce Brown [Miami], Hamidou Diallo [Kentucky]. All competitive guys going at it three-on-three. It was really competitive. I was just trying to show a lot of these coaches what I’ve been working on. And that’s what I did at the Knicks workout.
“Yeah, I did pretty well [against Bridges]. He’s a good player — at Michigan State for two years. We went at it two times. It was really good. With the Clippers [workout], we got after it too. We played really well. We both shot the ball really well. The Knicks workout was really competitive, grinding it out, getting in different situations, going against each other in the post. We just did very well. I’m not going to say he didn’t do good, but I probably did better, according to the coaches. But we both played really well in both workouts and I give him his props.”
The Knicks like that Knox can play power forward, too. Bridges is more of a small forward/shooting guard. Knicks coach David Fizdale said at the draft combine he felt the roster needed help at small and power forwards. However, the big difference is Bridges, 21, is clearly the better defender with his 7-foot-2 wingspan.
“He’s a player’s coach,’’ Knox said of Fizdale. “He gets along with his players really well. He’s a good speaker with a lot of good knowledge about the game. He’s been around LeBron [James], Dwyane [Wade], some of the greats. He knows what he’s talking about. He’s got a lot of knowledge and taught me a lot of new things.”
Not short on confidence, Knox feels he’s the ideal pro.
“Versatility is a big thing in the league now,’’ Knox said. “Guys who can play multiple positions, I kind of fit that mold. I handle the ball, shoot the ball, get to the basket really well. I can take big guys on the perimeter, little guys in the post. I feel the way I can be used I can fit any team.’’
Knox, who didn’t speak at the combine or after his Knicks workout, said his draft stock has risen because of the work he did after a season at Kentucky in which he showed some inconsistency.
After a meal with Brown, Knox planned to drive Tuesday night to New York, where he officially will become an NBA player at Barclays Center on Thursday.
“It’s going to be one of the best moments of my life,’’ Knox said.