Could Justise Winslow Be Right Draft Fit for New York Knicks at No. 4?

The New York Knicks may have felt some short-term disappointment after receiving only the No. 4 overall pick at the 2015 draft lottery, but taking a step back, there should still be plenty of options available for them.

While the Knicks are likely to miss out on Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor—this year's premier center prospects—they have needs all over the court and will be able to fill one with a quality starter if they choose wisely.

The Knicks' criteria going into the draft should be finding the best player who fills a need, fits into the triangle offense and who could be built around in free agency. With that in mind, New York might not need to look any further than Duke's Justise Winslow.

Winslow is an explosive two-way forward, the likes of which the Knicks haven't had on their roster in years. The league's elite teams always seem to have quality two-way talent on the wing, and New York has been behind in that regard for way too long.

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In one year in college, Winslow put up 17.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per 40 minutes, shooting an impressive 49 percent from the field and 42 percent from outside. He's the kind of player who can stretch the floor, drive to the rim and occasionally create his own shot on offense, which is exactly what the Knicks should be looking for in a triangle small forward.

On the defensive end is where Winslow has been particularly impressive, especially at only 19 years of age. Many talented prospects are plagued with defensive disinterest or outright inability, but Winslow has already shown the makings of a quality perimeter defender. He's fast, physical and not afraid to apply serious pressure to his matchups.

By all accounts, Winslow was a key cog in the Blue Devil's championship campaign, and if not for Okafor, he might be getting a lot more attention as we approach the draft. Either way, his production and competitive success at the college level should be a green light for the Knicks front office. 

Looking at the physical side of things, it's clear Winslow is a solid athlete, but that's a given for most players this high in the draft. Standing at 6'7" and 222 pounds, Winslow has a solid mix of strength and speed. While he isn't lacking in any physical area, this is certainly where Winslow stands out the least compared to his competition.

One of Winslow's main advantages to the Knicks is his ability to work on both ends as either a small forward or power forward, which hugely helps his compatibility with Carmelo Anthony. Winslow isn't quite as powerful as someone like Arizona's Stanley Johnson, but he certainly has the flexibility to swap matchups with Melo in a pinch. 

Melo tends to play his best basketball at power forward, especially with someone like Winslow who can spread the floor on the wing. The key issue is Anthony being worn down by nightly matchups with bigger forwards, but Winslow's presence would help alleviate that.

Looking at the bigger picture, the question is how Winslow would fit into the context of the Knicks' offseason. Without the chance to draft Towns or Okafor, the Knicks will likely make a move for center Greg Monroe in free agency—which is already "close to a done deal," according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Such a move would probably require a max contract of around $15 million, leaving roughly $11.8 million to spend elsewhere. That money would need to be spent mostly on either a point guard or small forward, depending on which position the Knicks address in the draft.

If they take Winslow, the Knicks could potentially make a move for Rajon Rondo or Reggie Jackson, but doing so would likely mean using up the rest of their spending money.

Alternatively, they could spread the money out a bit more and bring in a couple of quality role players, leaving the point guard position where it was last season in a committee between Langston Galloway, Alexey Shved and Jose Calderon. That wouldn't be ideal by any means, but the triangle doesn't emphasize point guards, and between them, the three cover the Knicks' biggest needs at the 1—defense, three-point shooting and the flexibility to speed the offense up when it's called for.

A similarly well-structured offseason could be built around drafting point guard Emmanuel Mudiay. Again, this scenario would involve making a move for Monroe, but this time using the remaining money to go after a quality two-way wing like Wesley Matthews and DeMarre Carroll. 

As nice as that sounds, the big issues with that direction are that Mudiay is less of a sure thing than Winslow (and unlikely to be an immediate fit in the triangle), and going after Matthews or Carroll in free agency would be a risk considering their recent injury history. It's a direction that should still be seriously considered—and could possibly work out—but there are serious red flags there.

Mudiay and Winslow aren't an exhaustive list of the Knicks' options, either. D'Angelo Russell needs to be seriously considered if he falls to No. 4, while Johnson and Willie Cauley-Stein are alternatives if the Knicks decide to trade down a few spots.

The Winslow route involves filling a major triangle need with a fairly certain prospect, as there could be nothing worse than the Knicks coming away from a 17-65 season with a player who doesn't work out. The line between safety and upside needs to be toed effectively, and that would call for making a move for Winslow at No. 4.