Kentucky coach John Calipari cited two of his forwards as good fits for the big-man-starved Knicks: junior Willie Cauley-Stein to shore up the defense and freshman Trey Lyles to shore up the triangle. Cauley-Stein worked out for the Knicks on Tuesday, and Lyles was to work out for the club Thursday along with Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky. The Knicks have long been intrigued by Cauley-Stein, a 7-foot defensive specialist who Calipari says could be a future All-Star. Knicks president Phil Jackson has said he would prefer adding a defensive big man over an offense-first one, and could even trade down from the fourth pick for Cauley-Stein. The 6-foot-10 Lyles is projected to go in the early teens, and the Knicks can also trade down to get him — a definite option if they can obtain extra pieces. Calipari cited Lyles as being a good fit for the triangle because of his outside-shooting ability. Calipari said Jackson shared that assessment when he visited a Kentucky practice in March. Lyles, who could utilize his 3-point shooting to play as a stretch 4 in the NBA, played at small forward for Calipari because of the plethora of big men on Kentucky’s 38-1 superteam. “When they came in, Phil (Jackson) watched practice, watched shootaround, watched games,” Calipari said. “What I’m hearing is he walked away saying, ‘This is the kind of player in the triangle who has great (size).’ He’s 6-10. “We played him at the 3. He could have scored more and done more, but people that really know the game walked away saying, ‘Wait a minute, the kid can shoot, he can pass. He’s really skilled. He’s got size.’ So I think they really liked him.’’ Calipari said he’s heard teams say Lyles is “not assertive’’ because he’s “soft-spoken.” “The thing they don’t know about Trey, if that fight breaks out, he’s not moving,’’ Calipari said. “He will not move. That’s in him. In a competitive environment, it comes out and you go like, ‘Oh my gosh.’” A league source said Cauley-Stein had his best workout with the Knicks, but he’s not the post-up guy or polished mid-range shooter the triangle benefits. - See more at: http://nypost.com/2015/06/18/calipa...cky-big-man-makes-even-more-sense-for-knicks/
