| 30 Teams, 30 Days: New York Draft Preview Authored by Jason M. Williams - June 10, 2009 - 12:21 pm
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2009 Draft Picks: 8th
Pre-Draft 2009-10 Projected Starters:
PG Chris Duhon
SG Larry Hughes
SF Wilson Chandler
PF Al Harrington
C David Lee
Key Reserves:
PG Nate Robinson
SF Danilo Gallinari
SF Jared Jeffries
SG Quentin Richardson
C Eddy Curry
What the Knicks Do Well:
The Knicks made huge strides last season under new Coach Mike D’Antoni. They suffered through constant roster flux, injuries to key players, and the poorly handled Stephon Marbury situation throughout most of the season – and they still were somehow in playoff contention until the final month of the season.
The Knicks started their first season under D’Antoni with a bang. They jumped out to a 6-3 start while the spited Marbury and doughnut-crushing Eddy Curry sat on the bench, looking like hung-over cheerleaders. Mayor Bloomberg was on the brink of giving D’Antoni the key to the city. Zach Randolph looked like an All-Star. Even Spike Lee was about to write a tear-jerking film about Jerome James’ ongoing battle with plantar fasciitis.
But then they fell back to Earth. Donnie Walsh moved quickly to sell high on his two leading scorers to shave $27M off their 2010 cap. In the same early November day, he moved Jamal Crawford to Golden State for Al Harrington and Z-Bo to the Clippers for “Whiny Tim” Thomas and Cuttino Mobley. The Knicks were so desperate to move Randolph’s contract that they got back a guy who shows up every other night and a guy who immediately retired due to concerns about his heart.
The Knicks were in playoff contention, tied for the 8th seed as late as February and continued to battle despite zero contribution from “their franchise center” (quote by Isiah Thomas) and a very limited rookie campaign from Gallinari.
Wilson Chandler proved that he was a keeper and David Lee led the NBA in double-doubles. Chris Duhon played like Chauncey Billups Lite for the first two-thirds of the season and Gallinari showed why he was taken with the sixth overall selection last year.
Harrington had a very productive season finally coming home to his hometown Knicks and Nate Robinson was an electric sparkplug that controlled the game for weeks at a time and provided the punch that D’Antoni’s offense can facilitate.
At the trade deadline, Walsh tried to better the team by dealing away a glut of wasted cap space (Jerome James, Anthony Roberson, Tim Thomas, Malik Rose) for Chris Wilcox and Larry Hughes. Hughes had a few games where we remembered his 22-point, 6.2-rebound, 4.7-assist, 2.9-steals per game magical season of 2004-05 that helped bait the Cleveland Cavaliers into giving him buckets spewing with money, and other nights where he looked like he’d rather be playing PlayStation 3 in his hometown St. Louis.
Greatest Areas of Improvement:
Shot Blocker
The Knicks were incapable of blocking shots before they hired D’Antoni as coach. Now? They are even worse than ever. Chandler led the team with 0.91 blocks per game and he’s figuring to be their starting SG after they sign LeBron next summer. They must address this if they ever want to go anywhere near the postseason.
A Long Range Sniper
The new-look Knicks look comfortable hoisting up three-pointers left and right. But there’s one problem – the only Knick who hit on more than 40% of his attempts was Gallinari, a hybrid combo forward. The Knicks haven’t been a threat in the East since Allan Houston was raining three’s from the SG position.
Who’s Gone Number 8 Recently?
Take away Rudy Gay back in 2006, and the eighth pick hasn’t been too kind to the team walking away with the selection. The last time the Knicks sat in the eight-spot they went with the “safer pick” by taking Channing Frye, despite reports that Isiah Thomas was enamored with a chubby Jersey kid named Andrew Bynum.
2008
Joe Alexander, Milwaukee Bucks
2007
Brandan Wright, Charlotte Bobcats (traded to Golden State)
2006
Rudy Gay, Houston Rockets (traded to Memphis)
2005
Channing Frye, New York Knicks
2004
Rafael Araujo, Toronto Raptors
Who Should the Knicks Target?
For more in-depth analysis and background regarding the players that the Knicks should target in this year’s Draft, click on each player name to be redirected to Christopher Reina’s Prospect Report piece.
- Stephen Curry of Davidson
Stephen Curry has been campaigning to become a Knick almost as much as Minka Kelly has been trying to become Mrs. Jeter. While Steph Curry’s given name couldn’t be a more toxic reminder of the Isiah Era – Steph (Marbury) and (Eddy) Curry – he does come equipped with the exact arsenal and moxie that the Knicks lack on the perimeter. While he has been getting plenty of good press since the combine revealed he’s a lot bigger and stronger than originally thought, he could be off the board now by the time the Knicks walk the plank.
- Jrue Holiday of UCLA
Holiday will likely be gone when the Knick fans begin to get fired up in the WaMu Theater, but the Knicks would love to get their hands on this year’s Russell Westbrook. Holiday has the tools to become an elite two-way point guard that could be the perfect addition to D’Antoni’s system. If he’s on the board, you must believe he will be the selection.
- Brandon Jennings of Roma
Jennings is emerging as an enigma in this year’s draft. He continues to drop out of large-scale scouting events like the combine and the Reebok Eurocamp, and has hinted that he plans to show the goods for specific teams in individual workouts. This might be a fine strategy for a guy like Ty Lawson, who rampaged through the NCAA tourney and is currently sitting with his all-time highest draft stock. But Jennings is quite the opposite. He was a heralded high school superstar and snubbed Arizona for Italy. He didn’t even do well overseas and now almost seems like he’s banking on his fading “potential” to get him picked inside the lottery.
- Demar DeRozan of USC
DeRozan could just be another redundant SG/SF type for the Knicks, but his potential could be the highest of anyone left on the board at this pick. If he is, the Knicks will have a tough time passing on a guy with elite athleticism and a prototypical wing body. If he can learn how to knock down a three-pointer on a consistent basis, he could be a nightmare in the Knicks offense for years to come.
Picks Over the Past Five Years
Thanks in large part to man I can’t stop mentioning, the Knicks have made some high quality selections since 2004. Trevor Ariza is busting out for the Lakers, David Lee is a fringe All Star, Nate Robinson (acquired at 2005 NBA Draft) is a perennial candidate for the Sixth Man Award, Wilson Chandler is quickly becoming a rising star, Gallinari can shoot the lights out even with a bad back, and Mardy Collins started the hilarious/awesome J.R. Smith fight two years ago.
2008
Danilo Gallinari, 6th
2007
Wilson Chandler, 23rd
2006
Renaldo Balkman, 20th
Mardy Collins, 29th
2005
Channing Frye, 8th
David Lee, 30th
Dijon Thompson, 54th (traded to Phoenix)
2004
Trevor Ariza, 44th
Who Do the Fans Want?
According to Andrew Perna’s New York Knicks Lottery Summit, an interactive forum featuring the responses of true RealGM hoops fans hoping to add their two cents to the Knicks Draft discussion, the fans of New York have made it known that they would like a shot-blocker and a pure passer.
The Verdicts
1. What could the team have done differently to make the playoffs?
Jose7©: Share the basketball.
blueNorange: Not suck.
echelonNYK: If we survived “Hell Week.”
magnumt: If we had somehow avoided injuries.
SMAC-K: Nothing really.
j4remi: If we focused on playing better defense.
nykgeneralmanager: It went downhill when Chris Duhon began to break down and turn it over six times a game.
NYKF4L: If we landed a defensive big at the trade deadline.
BklynKING: If they played defense and were a lot more consistent with their effort.
Deeeez Knicks: If they played better defense and made fewer mental mistakes.
hobojoe2131: If we closed out games better.
mmgwmu: The injuries and early-season trades hampered our ability to make the postseason.
moocow007: Considering their focus on 2010, they had no shot to make the playoffs.
Fury: Have we not traded Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph.
Rasho Brezec: If we played defense and used our brains.
stuporman: We needed team defense and the ability to convert in crunch time.
mjhp911: If we didn’t throw all of our eggs in the 2010 basket.
pennyspree: We were actually on track for the playoffs before the Randolph trade…
2. Where were the team’s biggest strengths?
Jose7©: Athleticism.
blueNorange: Not playing defense.
echelonNYK: The outside game.
magnumt: Shedding those two MASSIVE contracts, when many thought it would take us years just to shed just one.
SMAC-K: Scoring.
j4remi: The ability to score in bunches.
nykgeneralmanager: Perimeter scoring.
NYKF4L: Positive environment.
BklynKING: Scoring.
Deeeez Knicks: The pick-and-roll with Duhon and Lee.
hobojoe2131: The pick-and-roll.
mmgwmu: Versatility.
moocow007: The depth and talent of their young players.
Fury: The forward positions.
Rasho Brezec: Scoring.
stuporman: We competed in every game.
mjhp911: Chuck and duck.
pennyspree: The offense.
3. Who had a surprisingly effective season?
Jose7©: Chris Duhon.
blueNorange: Wilson Chandler.
echelonNYK: Chandler.
magnumt: Chandler.
SMAC-K: David Lee.
j4remi: Duhon.
nykgeneralmanager: Chandler, and Gallinari was surprisingly effective considering his health issues and age in limited time.
NYKF4L: Duhon.
BklynKING: Lee, because a lot of people said he wouldn’t fit the system.
Deeeez Knicks: Lee.
hobojoe2131: Chandler.
mmgwmu: I expected Chandler to break out a bit more, and I was surprised by the play of Duhon.
moocow007: Chandler and Robinson.
Fury: Duhon.
Rasho Brezec: Duhon.
stuporman: Lee, Robinson, Chandler, Duhon and Gallinari.
mjhp911: Jared Jeffries.
pennyspree: Duhon.
4. Who had a surprisingly ineffective season?
Jose7©: No one.
blueNorange: Nate Robinson.
echelonNYK: Nate.
magnumt: Eddy Curry.
SMAC-K: Curry.
j4remi: Jerome James.
nykgeneralmanager: Curry.
NYKF4L: If Larry Hughes and Chris Wilcox don’t count, Curry.
BklynKING: Curry, because he’s fat.
Deeeez Knicks: Curry.
hobojoe2131: Robinson.
mmgwmu: Curry is just a joke.
moocow007: Curry.
Fury: Wilcox.
Rasho Brezec: Everyone that was ineffective was expected to be.
stuporman: Curry and James.
mjhp911: Nate.
pennyspree: Wilcox and Curry.
5. How confident are you in the front office heading into the offseason?
Jose7©: Very confident.
blueNorange: Not at all.
echelonNYK: I’m not worried.
magnumt: Big-time confident.
SMAC-K: On a scale of 1 to 10, I’ll go with a 7.
j4remi: Very confident.
nykgeneralmanager: Very.
NYKF4L: 75%.
BklynKING: Very.
Deeeez Knicks: I’ll go with a 7 out of 10.
hobojoe2131: Complete confidence.
mmgwmu: I’m very confident in Donnie Walsh.
moocow007: It depends on whether or not they draft Stephen Curry.
Fury: I’m confident.
Rasho Brezec: All I ask for is at least two draft picks.
stuporman: I’m about 60% confident.
mjhp911: Not very. Walsh’s hands are somewhat tied.
pennyspree: I’m confident, but I really don’t want Curry at eight.
6. What are the team’s biggest needs in the draft?
Jose7©: Lead point guard, and a defensive shot blocker.
blueNorange: Nearly everything.
echelonNYK: POINT GUARD!
.
magnumt: Point guard, shooting guard and center.
SMAC-K: Everything, but specifically someone who can create their own offense.
j4remi: A point guard.
nykgeneralmanager: A point guard or center.
NYKF4L: A defensive big, but this draft is strong in terms of point guards.
BklynKING: Everything except for a forward.
Deeeez Knicks: An interior defender, and someone at both guard spots.
hobojoe2131: Point guard and a shot-blocking center.
mmgwmu: Shooting, defense, shot-blocking and toughness.
moocow007: Someone that can control the tempo of games.
Fury: Point guard.
Rasho Brezec: Point guard and a center.
stuporman: A big man, and guards.
mjhp911: Point guard.
pennyspree: A point guard that can create, a shot-blocking center, and a true shooting guard.
7. Who would you like the Knicks to take with the 8th pick?
Jose7©: Stephen Curry.
blueNorange: Anyone but Curry.
echelonNYK: I’d be happy with any of the following: Curry, Jonny Flynn, Eric Maynor, Earl Clark or James Harden.
magnumt: New York needs more picks!
SMAC-K: I like Jordan Hill, Flynn, Jrue Holiday, Clark, DeMar DeRozan and Curry.
j4remi: Tyreke Evans.
nykgeneralmanager: Hill, Evans or Flynn.
NYKF4L: Best Player Available.
BklynKING: Anyone except for James Johnson, Gerald Henderson, Ty Lawson or Wayne Ellington.
Deeeez Knicks: Flynn.
hobojoe2131: Ricky Rubio, Holiday or Curry.
mmgwmu: Curry.
moocow007: I really don’t have much of a preference.
Fury: Curry or Brandon Jennings.
Rasho Brezec: Holiday.
stuporman: I’m still not sure.
mjhp911: Lawson or Curry.
pennyspree: Jennings or DeRozan.
Click here to read other draft previews in our 30 Teams, 30 Days series
Who do you want the Knicks to draft at number 8? Feel free to contact Jason M. Williams with your thoughts. He can be reached at Jason.Williams@RealGM.com for comments and questions. |
