Tyrese Maxey, Kentucky’s electric combo guard and a Knicks potential trade-back draft target, returned to national television Thursday night.
A Rich Paul-inspired Pro Day was televised by ESPN2 featuring Maxey and potential No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards of Georgia. Maxey and Edwards are each clients of the superagent Paul.
Lo and behold, his two most famous clients, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, showed up at the Los Angeles gym to watch. NBA scouts and executives were not permitted into the gym for this made-for-TV event that was not governed by NBA rules.
The Pro Day, sources said, was watched by the Knicks on TV. Other Paul clients gathered included Draymond Green, Tristan Thompson, Trae Young and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
According to a source, some agents were unhappy with the setup, feeling it was unwarranted exposure for Paul’s clients, but the NBA let it go on.
The Knicks select at No. 8, and the 6-foot-3 Maxey might be considered a reach at that slot. Trading back to the early teens for an asset and taking Maxey could be a perfect Knicks scenario.
The Knicks are big fans of the Kentucky program. Knicks president Leon Rose recently hired Kentucky assistant Kenny Payne. Senior vice president William Wesley was well-known, when he was an agent adviser, to be extremely tight with the program and coach John Calipari.
Knicks GM Scott Perry is also a cheerleader for Kentucky, as evidenced by gambling on Kevin Knox at No. 9 in the 2018 draft.
Maxey conducted a 20-minute, solo workout at a Los Angeles gym filled with shooting and dribbling drills. His shot mechanics came into question at Kentucky, but he’s changed his release to a higher point, as the workout showed. At one juncture, Maxey sank five straight 3-pointers.
“I was able to show I can knock down my outside shot consistently — catch-and-shoot, off the move — and I was able to show my conditioning because nobody has seen me because of COVID-19,’’ Maxey said on ESPN.
One of Maxey’s attributes is a rabid work ethic. Maxey said he was up at 4:50 a.m. Thursday to head to the gym when his agent told him to sleep in. He didn’t. “I love the grind,’’ Maxey said.
