Remember, Chad Ford called the Knicks taking Gallinari EARLY last year, months before the draft. So I think it’s worth a listen when he pushes Stephen Curry this year, this far from the draft (he was at it months ago, too):
Dan (Boston): If Davidson misses out on the Tourney does Stephen Curry drop out of the lottery or is he inevitably going to be taken by NY?
Chad Ford: (1:37 PM ET ) I think the Knicks and Bobcats both love him. I don’t see him slipping much further than that. He’s perfect for D’Antoni’s system and Knicks fans would love him.
I tend to agree with Chad’s take. What he doesn’t mention is how much LeBron loves Stephen Curry, and even goes out of his way to watch him live.
We could do a lot worse. I wouldn’t be too fazed by Andrew’s review over at The Knicks Blog (http://www.theknicksblog.com/2009/03/09/a-look-at-the-draft/) though he’s absolutely correct that Curry has struggled some in recent weeks.
Every defense he faces on the college level is geared purely to shut him down. His teammates are not up to par and they aren’t able to keep the opposition honest at all.
He’s injured (ankle sprain a couple of weeks ago) and tired at this point but if you want to know what he’s capable of look no further than his play against Duke and Oklahoma earlier in the year.
Here’s the last 8 minutes of the OK game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpNs43Y73Cs
Watch how he’s defended and how he sees the floor and sets up his teammates (even though they can’t do anything with it). Curry is definitely not one-dimensional.
Curry would be a right fit in D’s system, but we have enough to get who ever we want. No one will be a better fit than Ricky Rubio and we should go all out to land him if he’s in the draft. We can offer a combination with Lee, Nate, Chandler, Gallo and our draft pick itself. From these five we should be able to land what ever we want. We need a point second to none for the next ten years and Rubio will be it. We have what it takes to get him and we should not fear trading what ever it takes to have him if he is in the draft.
[...] would take him at six? According to Curry, none other than the New York Knicks. Are the Knicks, as Chad Ford has repeatedly reported over the past several months, locked in on the Davidson PG? As you all know, I’m a big fan of Curry’s and I love [...]
[...] Chad Ford reported the Knicks’ interest in Curry months ago. Last year he called the Knicks’ drafting of Gallinari months in advance as well. At this point I think it’s a foregone conclusion that the Knicks are going after Curry and workouts of any other prospect represent a fall back option in case someone snatches Curry prior to 8 (though I wonder who they are…I’m sure Holiday is in the mix). [...]