Knicks weigh in on Zion Williamson’s NBA draft debate

Emmanuel Mudiay has walked in Zion Williamson’s busted shoe.

Four years ago, Mudiay was a prized teenage prospect, nursing an ankle injury in China. The young guard had been sidelined for three months. The NBA draft was less than three months away, and the guaranteed lottery pick had little to gain by returning for the CBA playoffs.

“A lot of people were like, ‘Don’t play anymore,’ ” said Mudiay, who played on a one-year, $1.2 million deal for the Guangdong Southern Tigers. “But I just wanted to go there and play. I wanted to fulfill my commitment.”

Mudiay predicts Williamson will return to play for Duke this season — if the expected next No. 1 pick recovers from a Grade 1 knee sprain suffered Wednesday night — but the Knicks guard remains bothered by the 13-year-old rule that puts star freshmen in such a position, unable to declare for the draft until turning 19.

“I think the rule should be changed, but we’ve been talking about this for how long now?” said Mudiay, the seventh-overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. “I think they’re trying to figure that out, but at the same time, everybody feels like they should get at least some type of money.”

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Dennis Smith Jr., who tore his ACL in high school, said Thursday he wouldn’t have risked his health by playing one season at North Carolina State, if going directly to the NBA had been an option.

“I’m grateful that I went there, [but] I’ve got a big family, some people that are depending on me,” said Smith, selected ninth in the 2017 NBA Draft. “I think they should be able to come out of high school, especially a guy like [Williamson] who really doesn’t need college. It’s just a stepping stone for him. Baseball players are allowed to go straight out of high school. I don’t really see the difference.”

Neither does David Fizdale.

“I always say that it’s tough to make a guy not work. It’s America,” the Knicks coach said. “I think that’s the toughest part for the league, and all of these leagues — you got an 18-year-old that’s capable, and it’s kind of hard to tell him he can’t go out and earn a living.”

Some have scoffed at Williamson, who — prior to his injury — said he would have played in college even if he had been eligible to enter the draft out of high school, but Knicks rookie Kevin Knox shares the same sentiment, stating his first option always would have been joining John Calipari’s one-and-done factory in Kentucky.

“Every single person doesn’t get to experience that college life, so I wanted to go experience it at least one year,” said Knox, drafted ninth overall. “I really enjoyed myself. I wanted to go through the whole school process, traveling, road games. I love road games in college, student section of the other team was going crazy. It’s something I definitely wanted to experience. I definitely would’ve decided to go to school.”

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Especially for the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament.

“I’ve seen a lot of people talking about if [Williamson] should sit the rest of the season and stuff like that … [but] everyone dreams of playing March Madness,” Knox said. “He’s a great kid. My mom knows his parents. It’s going to be hard for him … to just sit out the rest of the season and see his teammates go out there and play without him.”

Knicks rookie Mitchell Robinson did nothing but watch last year, forgoing college to train for the draft.

“That was the best thing for me,” Robinson said. “I just felt like I needed the extra work.”

Williamson doesn’t. The Knicks have seen enough.