NFT: Thoughts on the Knicks Draft?

but - the Knicks really needed a point guard. They passed in a draft with a couple of point guard prospects to draft a kid who may eventually become a good power forward even though to date he's never played the power forward position.

Given the Knicks strong history of developing players into stars, I think they did great :(

from what I am reading anyways, that the Knicks had a decent draft. I never watch any college ball anymore so I wouldn’t have much of an opinion, but Knox was pretty surprising. I didn’t hear much about him leading o to the draft. I’ll be interested to hear what the more knowledgeable fans say.

and tonight they walked the walk by taking two talented teenagers. Frank gives them three teenagers to coach up while KP rehabs. I was pleasantly surprised - figured the new regime would play it safe with high floor/low ceiling guys, but they swung for the fences.

Knicks are starting to resemble a 21st century roster. Their young guys - KP, Frank, Knox, Dotson and Robinson - all have excellent size/wingspan for their respective positions. One more lottery pick and a big fish in free agency next year might just put us on the map.

I think they have their sights set on Kyrie, with Kemba as a possible back-up plan. That'll push Mudiay and Burke off the roster, and allow Frank to be a combo guard/defensive specialist. Total speculation on my part though.

I mean most of these players are talented. But the Knicks have a pretty poor record of developing talent outside of KP. Knox sounds like a player who will need a lot of development and so much can go wrong.

There is no real player I would have liked them to take other than Knox maybe other than Lonnie Walker IV. The draft really fell off after #7 so the Knicks were unlucky. I liked the Sixers pick and Boston might have gotten the next Shawn Kemp at #27 so the rich got richer.

Problem is that they have traded away so many first round picks.

KP was a great pick

THJR and Shump were solid for where they were picked

Jordan Hill was meh, but Knicks were going to take Curry until he went right before they picked

Frank is too early to tell

Willy was a very solid second rounder

So, the real problem has been lack of picks not who they picked

I like the draft. Given how bad the Knicks were in the second half, its a bit hard to watch the studs all go before they picked.

But they came away with two guys with the potential to be a lot better. Yeah, neither may pan out but I like the approach. Usually Knick GMs are looking to add a few wins so they can keep their jobs. In contrast, I think Perry did what he thought is best for the team longterm.

Frank, trier, Dotson, Knox and Robinson? Too early to project now I guess but those are 5 guys I can get behind.

In comment 13996949 Vanzetti said:

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Problem is that they have traded away so many first round picks. KP was a great pick THJR and Shump were solid for where they were picked Jordan Hill was meh, but Knicks were going to take Curry until he went right before they picked Frank is too early to tell Willy was a very solid second rounder So, the real problem has been lack of picks not who they picked

Where did all of those first round picks go? Did Isiah Thomas trade 25 of them to get Carmelo Anthony that time?

In comment 13996961 FStubbs said:

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In comment 13996949 Vanzetti said: Quote: Problem is that they have traded away so many first round picks. KP was a great pick THJR and Shump were solid for where they were picked Jordan Hill was meh, but Knicks were going to take Curry until he went right before they picked Frank is too early to tell Willy was a very solid second rounder So, the real problem has been lack of picks not who they picked Where did all of those first round picks go? Did Isiah Thomas trade 25 of them to get Carmelo Anthony that time?

Don't know if you can call KP a great pick yet, while he is a good player, big men with injury issues at a young age never seem to pan out well.

In comment 13996936 Giantsfan79 said:

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but - the Knicks really needed a point guard. They passed in a draft with a couple of point guard prospects to draft a kid who may eventually become a good power forward even though to date he's never played the power forward position. Given the Knicks strong history of developing players into stars, I think they did great :(

They didn’t “pass on” the PG prospects- Young and Sexton were gone by the time the Knicks picked. What PG would you have taken at #9?

was a no-brainer but I hope they make use of the d-league unless they plan on letting him work through his flaws.

In comment 13996971 DanMetroMan said:

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was a no-brainer but I hope they make use of the d-league unless they plan on letting him work through his flaws.

Exactly, let the kid play major minutes in the Dleague. Kid needs to be on the court

Am I correct with this, that the Knicks can have a kid go back-and-forth as many times as they want? If that’s still the case, I’d love to see him get a ton of major minutes, and occasionally get a call-up. Put him on a schedule so he knows exactly where he is, and plan for it, etc.

In comment 13996961 FStubbs said:

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Where did all of those first round picks go? Did Isiah Thomas trade 25 of them to get Carmelo Anthony that time?

Isiah was gone by the time they traded for Melo - that was Donnie Walsh. Only one actual first round pick went in the trade, though 2 of the players they dealt in the deal were former #1 picks (Gallinari and Wilson Chandler). Walsh also traded away another #1 the year before to free up cap space to go after Lebron. (Got Amar’e instead)

Isiah did trade away a pile of picks though. 2 firsts went for Marbury and another 2 went for Eddie Curry.

In between Walsh and the Zen Master regimes, Glen Grunwald dealt a #1 for Bargnani.

players and they backed it up by taking two guys who are ripe for development.

Knox is still just 18. He's got some serious skills but to reach his potential, he will have to develop.

But even more so, Robinson is incredibly raw. You can see the athleticism, but is he even anywhere close toready to get on the court in a game? I like the pick though because he definitely has DeAndre Jordan/Whiteside type potential. Alternately, if he doesn't develop he might not even be able to stay in the league.

is 28 inches of standing reach. Good luck scoring inside on that.

That isn't even including Frank who has bizarro arms.

In comment 13997005 Jon in NYC said:

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is 28 inches of standing reach. Good luck scoring inside on that. That isn't even including Frank who has bizarro arms.

***28 feet!!

with knox i get the concerns with him but you have to take intk account how calipari runs his teams. he makes every player sacrafice, he doesnt allow players to take over games unless you are a point guard..

as the season went on he established himself a little bit better, in high school he was known as a hustle rebounder defender type of player so hopefully that translates..

really excited about knox

every assistant coach they hired is known for development

is the correct way to build a team ? This team loses 50 plus games every year and now they are sure to lose more than 50 next year and this is progress ? I am amazed that after a 45 year drought Knick fans are OK with this. I thought the object was to improve and win games.

In comment 13997013 averagejoe said:

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is the correct way to build a team ? This team loses 50 plus games every year and now they are sure to lose more than 50 next year and this is progress ? I am amazed that after a 45 year drought Knick fans are OK with this. I thought the object was to improve and win games.

What non teenager should they have taken?

are going to take a look at LiAngelo Ball for their summer league team...

In comment 13997013 averagejoe said:

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is the correct way to build a team ? This team loses 50 plus games every year and now they are sure to lose more than 50 next year and this is progress ? I am amazed that after a 45 year drought Knick fans are OK with this. I thought the object was to improve and win games.

what older player who they could of drafted that would help them win right away?

the object is to buikd a team, there are no quick fixes in the draft...

Of course there's progress. Team is getting younger, cheaper and more talented, and has a coach who's Red Auerbach compared to Hornacek, Rambis and Fisher.

But there's always evil lurking - if Kanter opts out and we give him a 2-3 year deal, I'll strangle someone.

In comment 13997031 bceagle05 said:

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Of course there's progress. Team is getting younger, cheaper and more talented, and has a coach who's Red Auerbach compared to Hornacek, Rambis and Fisher. But there's always evil lurking - if Kanter opts out and we give him a 2-3 year deal, I'll strangle someone.

according to begely knicks have told agents no long term deals

In comment 13997013 averagejoe said:

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is the correct way to build a team ? This team loses 50 plus games every year and now they are sure to lose more than 50 next year and this is progress ? I am amazed that after a 45 year drought Knick fans are OK with this. I thought the object was to improve and win games.

Kp is out for the year. we're not winning many games regardless of who we took. Knox has all the skills to be a star. He has a year now to develop during reg season games. I think it was a great pick

In comment 13997000 Heisenberg said:

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players and they backed it up by taking two guys who are ripe for development.

yeah, some of the comments coming from the front office last season about how great they are at player development were borderline silly. Taking teenagers is the easy part. The hard part is actually developing these guys into players.

That's all I ask...don't just fly by the seat of your pants, have a plan and execute. The plan is clearly to accumulate young assets and protect the cap flexibility. What more can we want as fans? Now we need to hope these young players progress and develop and if they do, we will be in a good spot.

They did go overboard with their player development rhetoric, indicating that Craig Robinson was some kind of savant who's doing things nobody else is doing. We'll see - he doesn't exactly have the resume to support that.

Trey Burke was a nice reclamation story, but Dotson had NBA ready skills coming into the league. Not much else to get excited about on the development front. We'll see how Frank, Knox and Robinson come along - those are the real test cases.

whether Anthony, Marbury, Curry. God, the mismanagement was beyond awful.

I'm hoping for a top 3 pick next year, and adding a young star to the roster. We need about 2 more of them to compete with the top teams, and that's if KP comes back fully.

will play w/the Knicks in the Summer league

In comment 13997040 Keith said:
[quote] That's all I ask...don't just fly by the seat of your pants, have a plan and execute. The plan is clearly to accumulate young assets and protect the cap flexibility. What more can we want as fans? ...LOL....that is the problem right there. I think the fans are supposed to want WINS. Sure the Warriors are good but we are kicking their ASS in cap flexibility...lol

If there's ever a year they'll get one, it's this year, unless Knox sets the league on fire as a rookie (which would be fantastic).

If it were up to me, Frank/Dotson/Knox would get a ton of time together, but I fear we'll get a steady dose of Lee and, gulp, Lance Thomas instead. Lee really needs to go.

In comment 13997018 Mike in St. Louis said:

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are going to take a look at LiAngelo Ball for their summer league team...

I really hope that this isn't true. I don't want Lavar Ball's toxic personality anywhere near this franchise.

In comment 13997061 averagejoe said:

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In comment 13997040 Keith said: [quote] That's all I ask...don't just fly by the seat of your pants, have a plan and execute. The plan is clearly to accumulate young assets and protect the cap flexibility. What more can we want as fans? ...LOL....that is the problem right there. I think the fans are supposed to want WINS. Sure the Warriors are good but we are kicking their ASS in cap flexibility...lol

dude you are so lost...

what were the warriors before curry and thompson?

what were the sixers before simmons and embiid?

what were the cavs without lebron?

it takes timr and knicks are building the right way, be patient, so if knicks traded for kemba you wiuld be happy?

In comment 13997013 averagejoe said:

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is the correct way to build a team ? This team loses 50 plus games every year and now they are sure to lose more than 50 next year and this is progress ? I am amazed that after a 45 year drought Knick fans are OK with this. I thought the object was to improve and win games.

Going for the quick fix is why they’ve been in this mess for so long. It goes back to when Ewing got old. If they had bitten the bullet and just lived with bring bad a few years, they might have seen success again.

In comment 13997039 Enzo said:

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In comment 13997000 Heisenberg said: Quote: players and they backed it up by taking two guys who are ripe for development. yeah, some of the comments coming from the front office last season about how great they are at player development were borderline silly. Taking teenagers is the easy part. The hard part is actually developing these guys into players.

knicks are backing that up by hiring coaches that specialize in development

.

In comment 13997013 averagejoe said:

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is the correct way to build a team ? This team loses 50 plus games every year and now they are sure to lose more than 50 next year and this is progress ? I am amazed that after a 45 year drought Knick fans are OK with this. I thought the object was to improve and win games.

The reason they've been bad for so long is that they've been trying short term quick fixes for over a decade.

In comment 13997061 averagejoe said:

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In comment 13997040 Keith said: [quote] That's all I ask...don't just fly by the seat of your pants, have a plan and execute. The plan is clearly to accumulate young assets and protect the cap flexibility. What more can we want as fans? ...LOL....that is the problem right there. I think the fans are supposed to want WINS. Sure the Warriors are good but we are kicking their ASS in cap flexibility...lol

Please explain to me how you think the Warriors got to where they are right now.

i have a feeling thwy keep thomas since his deal is basically an expiring contract..

with lee, i want to see dotson and hardaway get those minutes, lee can go to a contender

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i have a feeling thwy keep thomas since his deal is basically an expiring contract.. with lee, i want to see dotson and hardaway get those minutes, lee can go to a contender

Agreed. I can live with Lance for one more season - they're still pretty thin at the forward spot anyway, with KP injured and KOQ likely leaving. In fact, Denver has a million forwards - maybe they'll send us one in exchange for Lee.

.

In comment 13997032 nygiants16 said:

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In comment 13997031 bceagle05 said: Quote: Of course there's progress. Team is getting younger, cheaper and more talented, and has a coach who's Red Auerbach compared to Hornacek, Rambis and Fisher. But there's always evil lurking - if Kanter opts out and we give him a 2-3 year deal, I'll strangle someone. according to begely knicks have told agents no long term deals

To me this is incredibly dumb if they are actually telling agents this. This would incentivize Kanter to opt in. I guess who cares if we are tanking. But this would probably rule out Randle as a FA target.

Don't want to win more games then we have to next season, but I think Favors is a great fit with KP. Can test him out on a 1 year deal. He came up big for the Jazz in the OKC series and I think playing with Gobert was a really rough fit for him.

In comment 13997113 giantsfan44ab said:

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In comment 13997032 nygiants16 said: Quote: In comment 13997031 bceagle05 said: Quote: Of course there's progress. Team is getting younger, cheaper and more talented, and has a coach who's Red Auerbach compared to Hornacek, Rambis and Fisher. But there's always evil lurking - if Kanter opts out and we give him a 2-3 year deal, I'll strangle someone. according to begely knicks have told agents no long term deals To me this is incredibly dumb if they are actually telling agents this. This would incentivize Kanter to opt in. I guess who cares if we are tanking. But this would probably rule out Randle as a FA target. Don't want to win more games then we have to next season, but I think Favors is a great fit with KP. Can test him out on a 1 year deal. He came up big for the Jazz in the OKC series and I think playing with Gobert was a really rough fit for him.

kanter is openly said he wants to opt out because he wants a long term contract, he doesnt care about how much but he wants a long term contract

however I liked the concept of what they did, The Knox kid blew them away in his workouts especially Fiz. Robinson seems very intriguing. Basically they identified guys they liked and feel they can develop and had a plan. Can't complain right now. They could easily have gone the big shiny route and took MPjr, but they resisted that so hopefully it works out.

In comment 13997112 Heisenberg said:

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i dont think that is true at all, on a good team he is a very good bench guard

Lee is useless.

In comment 13997122 nygiants16 said:

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In comment 13997112 Heisenberg said: Quote: . i dont think that is true at all, on a good team he is a very good bench guard

3 years and $36M is a pretty bad contract for a bench guard. It’s not his basketball ability which makes him untraceable, it’s that he has a bad contract