| Lottery Summit: New York Knicks Authored by Andrew Perna & The RGM Knicks Forum - May 15, 2008 - 12:43 pm
Last month I debuted a series of Pre-Draft Summits over on RealGM’s NFL page as each of the league’s teams prepared for the annual rookie draft. I posed a set of questions, similar to the ones asked on our NFL boards, to each of the NBA’s fourteen lottery team forums as we prepare to begin our up-to-the-minute, expert 2008 NBA Draft coverage. The following responses were compiled from our New York forum, the people who know the Knicks better than some of the players themselves.
The New York Knicks:
2007-08 Record: 23-59
Difference From 2006-07: 10 Fewer Wins
Chance Of Landing #1 Pick: 7.6%
Restricted Free Agents: Randolph Morris
Unrestricted Free Agents: Fred Jones, Stephon Marbury (ETO)
The Verdicts
1. What could the team have done different to make the playoffs?
Manhattan Project: If we had learned how to play as a team. We have a bunch of individuals that play too much one-on-one basketball, and learning how to play some defense wouldn't have hurt either.
king_k4life: Playing together as a unit, playing defense, having a solid rotation and decent coaching.
randomhero423: Play defense and better team work, but in all honesty even that wouldn’t have helped.
2. Where were the team’s biggest strengths?
Manhattan Project: We have strengths? We have a deep young bench, which might be our only choice for this answer.
king_k4life: The youth’s ability to come back from large differentials.
randomhero423: I honestly don't know.
3. Who had a surprisingly effective season?
Manhattan Project: Nate Robinson. He has really learned to play under control. He showed us this year that he is capable of handling a team over a limited period of time as well.
king_k4life: Robinson and Wilson Chandler, who we all expected to be a project when Isiah Thomas drafted him.
randomhero423: Fred Jones.
4. Who had a surprisingly ineffective season?
Manhattan Project: Eddy Curry. We knew that the experiment was going to be a struggle, but he came out flat this season. He struggled to adapt and regressed in just about every category.
king_k4life: Stephon Marbury, because he was never there, and Curry because of his laziness and tendency to cry when Zach Randolph posted up.
randomhero423: Zach.
5. How confident are you in the front office heading into the offseason?
Manhattan Project: With Walsh now on board, I have no worries about the direction he is taking us. He is blunt and brutal honesty, and that is a very welcome change of pace for us.
king_k4life: Not much with Walsh, to be honest. I'm not all doom and gloom, but I'm not happy.
randomhero423: Very confident, because Isiah is gone.
6. What are the team’s biggest needs in the draft?
Manhattan Project: A floor general and some interior defense.
king_k4life: Derrick Rose (a franchise point), Michael Beasley (a franchise player) or O.J. Mayo/Jerryd Bayless (more point guards), also interior defense, but we don't have a second pick.
randomhero423: A star player and a game-changer on defense.
7. Assuming the lottery plays out true, who would you like your team to select?
Manhattan Project: It’s Rose, Mayo, Beasley or bust. We are slated for the fifth pick and of those three unfortunately only Mayo has even the slightest chance to be available.
king_k4life: Rose.
randomhero423: We should trade down.
Archive:
The Miami Heat:Lottery Summit
The Seattle Supersonics:Lottery Summit
The Minnesota Timberwolves:Lottery Summit
The Memphis Grizzles:Lottery Summit
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM. If you’re a fan of one of the many teams that we have yet to feature, surf over to our forums and weigh in on what is happening within the organization. If you’d like to contact Andrew, shoot him an e-mail at Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
