Knicks Rumors: Scoring PG a Top Priority in 2020 NBA Draft Amid LaMelo Ball Buzz

The New York Knicks are the NBA's third-worst scoring offense midway through the 2019-20 season, and the organization is reportedly looking to address that in June's 2020 NBA draft.

"The Knicks scouting staff has been instructed the top priority is a scoring point guard on which to use their lottery pick," the New York Post's Marc Berman wrote Sunday evening.

The Knicks are 17-38 at the All-Star break—the fifth-worst mark in the league behind the 12-43 Golden State Warriors, 14-40 Cleveland Cavaliers, 15-41 Atlanta Hawks and 16-37 Minnesota Timberwolves—and well on their way to the draft lottery.

LaMelo Ball, playing in Australia's NBL for the Illawarra Hawks, has been projected by many to go No. 1 overall. The 18-year-old point guard is averaging 17 points per game on 37 percent shooting from the field across 12 games for the Hawks.

New York had planned a trip to Australia to watch Ball in person, Berman reported in mid-January, but Ball was shut down with a foot injury before the Knicks had a chance.

The Knicks will have a shot at landing Ball, especially since he is among a lengthy client list for CAA agent-turned-expected Knicks incoming president Leon Rose.

However, if another team snags the youngest Ball brother before New York has a chance, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected Iowa State point guard Tyrese Haliburton to go to the Knicks in his latest mock draft.

Wasserman separately evaluated how Ball would fit in on the Knicks earlier Sunday, noting that his 25 percent shooting from three isn't ideal for a team ranked 28th in three-point percentage—including rookie third overall pick RJ Barrett hitting just 1.1 threes per 30.5 minutes.

"Ball's most distinguishable strength is his ability to create open looks for teammates. That's been a crippling weakness of Dennis Smith Jr.'s. Mitchell Robinson, who ranks in the 98th percentile on pick-and-rolls and the 97th percentile in transition, would welcome Ball to the lineup.

"New York has to start somewhere by drafting right and finding a legitimate star prospect to build around. It wouldn't be surprising if Ball wanted to be that guy, but from a scouting perspective, his development would probably benefit from a different environment."

Barrett's addition ahead of this season proved that adding one shiny new talent will not solve all of the Knicks' problems. More likely than not, Ball's fit in New York would have to be graded in concert with how the rest of the first round shakes out for the franchise.

Berman added that the Knicks' "second priority" in the draft is expected to be "a shooting guard who has three-point range."

The Knicks gained an extra 2020 first-round selection by trading veteran forward Marcus Morris Sr. to the Los Angeles Clippers prior to the leaguewide trade deadline earlier this month.