The Knicks FanBlog Rotating Header Image

Posts Tagged ‘2009 NBA Draft’

The Overlooked: Toney Douglas

Jun 28th, 2009
by Dan L.
9 comments

In all the distress and disappointment that many of us had after the draft, I feel that Toney Douglas has been a bit overlooked. When the Knicks drafted him with the 29th pick, my reaction was a sarcastic “yay”. Unfair to him but it didn’t really have much to do with him; I had that reaction for the same reason people booed Hill. It was a manifestation of the disappointment of losing out on Stephen Curry.

I have to confess to never seeing Douglas play. I didn’t catch an FSU game that I can remember over the last few years, but I watched some clips, and Berman did a good job of laying out what Douglas can do for the Knicks, quoting Pistons director of Player Personnel George David:

“He’s one of the steals in the draft,” said the Pistons director of player personnel George David. “I thought he’d be 18, 19, 20. That kid is not a 29th pick. He’s a big-time scorer and lockdown defender.”

I’ve also reviewed his numbers (image via ESPN):

Strikes me as a lethal scorer, and effecient, plus able to do a lot of different things on the court, from rebounding to steals (and his reputation is certainly as a defensive stopper). Usually you don’t get much out of late first round picks, but sometimes you do. It’ll be interesting to keep an eye on Douglas.

BREAKING: Knicks Buy Lakers' 29th Pick

Jun 25th, 2009
by Dan L.
8 comments

Adrian Woadgjnakdhfaski of Yahoo! Sports breaks it:

New York Knicks officials are telling peers they have purchased the Lakers’ No. 29 pick.

The Knicks are planning to draft a point guard with their choice at No. 8, and sources say they’re targeting a big man at 29.

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said on Wednesday the team hoped to sell its pick and use to money to help re-sign free agents Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza.

Still unclear is whether the Knicks still plan to buy or trade for another, midround pick.

Knicks Sure to Get Darko This Week?

Jun 24th, 2009
by Dan L.
14 comments

Marc Stein is reporting that there is basically a deal in place for the Knicks to land Darko Milicic in exchange for Q (this apparently has been in the works for some time).

The Grizzlies aren’t just entertaining the idea of parting with the No. 2 overall pick in Thursday’s draft. They’ve also engaged in advanced discussions with the Knicks that should put former No. 2 overall pick Darko Milicic in New York by week’s end … unless Memphis winds up needing Milicic’s expiring contract in another draft-related trade.

Sources say that the proposed swap would send Milicic to the Knicks for swingman Quentin Richardson and cash. Milicic is scheduled to earn $7.5 million next season in the final year of a three-year deal he received from the Griz in 2007; Richardson has a player option for next season at $8.7 million.

If the teams go through with the trade, Milicic would join his fourth team since Detroit infamously gambled on him in 2003 with the pick immediately after LeBron James … and right before Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. But it’s believed that Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni hasn’t been able to kick his long-standing interest in seeing what he can get out of the perpetually, uh, casual 24-year-old. Despite his unquestioned standing as one of the biggest draft busts in league history, Milicic would have to be considered an intriguing one-year rental for the go-go-go Knicks given his length, mobility, passing skills and age.

Wouldn’t he?

Good deal if it happens. Let’s face it, Q is pretty much useless at this point and Darko is just 24. On a one year rental it is worth it to see if D’Antoni can help Darko shed the bust label like he did for Boris Diaw.

[UPDATED] Knicks About To Buy Another First?

Jun 24th, 2009
by Dan L.
2 comments

P & T, via Hahn’s Tweet, reports that the Knicks have purchased the 28th pick from the T-Wolves. Possibly included is the trade exception the Knicks got in the Balkman deal, which I forgot about, but expires in July.

Hahn seems to have backtracked a little since his initial Tweet announcing the purchase/trade, so it’s not a done deal, but the game is afoot.

UPDATE: Tommy Dee, citing 1050 AM reports that the deal for 28 is done and speculates that number 4 is still in play. We agree.

Tommy also speculates that 18 could also be in play for the Knicks.

UPDATE 2: Looks like the Wolves didn’t sell 28 yet.

Knicks Talking Trade With Thunder for 3rd Pick?

Jun 24th, 2009
by Dan L.
2 comments

[via @ AlanHahn]

According to The Racine Journal Time’s Gery Woelfel, the same source who broke a possible promise from the Warriors to Stephen Curry (a scenario Hahn acknowledged the Warriors are “salivating” over), the Knicks are in trade discussions with the Thunder for the 3rd overall pick. They’ll have to compete with Minnesota, which is offering up the either the 5 or 6, coupled with 18 for the 3, according to Chad Ford.

What could the Thunder possibly want from the Knicks if not the 8th pick and Chandler? Another option is a later swap of the 8th pick and Nate or Lee, but both of these restricted free agents would have to agree to go from New York City to Oklahoma City for such a deal to work.

Chandler for the 5th?

Jun 20th, 2009
by Dan L.
11 comments

Nbadraft.net is reporting that the Knicks offered Wilson Chandler in exchange for Washington’s 5th pick.

Man, these rumors are getting out of hand. Seems like there are as many rumors as conceivable scenarios.

If Chandler stayed in school he would have been eligible for this draft. Knowing what we know about him, I think he’d be pretty close to a top 5 pick.

Should the Knicks make this trade? Maybe. Wilson is one of the Knicks’ only two way players (the other being Hughes). He still has tremendous upside and is on his rookie deal for 2-3 more years.

I’d be sad to see Wilson (who is currently my favorite Knick) go, but if you can land Thabeet/Hill AND Curry/Rubio, do you do it? You sure as hell give it some serious thought.

Tuesday Workouts

Jun 15th, 2009
by Dan L.
1 comment

Jordan Hill. Alone, apparently.

Bad News Brandon

Jun 12th, 2009
by Dan L.
3 comments

Some of our valued readers know that we aren’t fans of Brandon Jennings here. We just respectfully disagree on the issue. There have been questions about, for example, the kid’s attitude. He’s certainly not doing anything to make anyone lower those red flags, inflating himself at the expense of other prospects (via Hoopsworld):

Jennings Spouts Off: Half of the NBA Draft process is convincing a team that you are a better fit than the guy in front of you, but it is generally considered bad form to call out or disrespect the guys your competing against. Apparently Brandon Jennings did not get that memo. In an interview with Sporting News’ Sean Deveney, Jennings said he did not think Memphis guard Tyreke Evans or UCLA’s Jrue Holiday would make good NBA point guards.

“No, I don’t think so,” said Jennings of Holiday and Evans being NBA point guards. “To be a point guard, it has to be in you. I don’t think you can suddenly be a point guard after one year. You are the leader, you are the quarterback, and that takes a lot of understanding. You have to make the right play, you have to run a team, you have to be a leader, you have to see things out there on the court. People might say, “He can be a point guard in the league.” But that is a hard transition. You have to know how to do it. You have to be the one to take the heat when things don’t go right.”

Jennings is a bit late to the game in terms of meeting with teams. Jennings opted not to play in the Eurocamp last week, a move most scouts were disappointed with as teams really wanted to see Jennings in a competitive 5-on-5 situation. Jennings is projected to go in the top 15 selections.

It’s pretty funny for Jennings to call out Evan’s and Holiday for not “mak[ing] the right play”, “run[ning] a team”, “being a leader”, and displaying those “things out there on the court”.

Last I checked, Evans and Holiday displayed a lot more “out there on the court”, than Jennings, who has struggled to find meaningful minutes in truly competitive situations (Rubio and Gallinari are a similar same age and made solid contributions against the same level competition). Add to that they showed up for the combine and measurements while Jennings did not. Jennings is throwing lots of stones but he’s living in a fragile glass house. Not very savvy.

Further, if you read the glowing, complimentary things that other prospects have to say about one another, its plain to see they are much more professional than this kid.

Will the Knicks wind up with him. Without any inside information, I put it at 1%. I don’t want them to. If they do take him I hope he lives up to the hype of those that like him, but as of now, to me, he’s radioactive.

Curry Crushes at Workout

Jun 11th, 2009
by Dan L.
8 comments

Steph Curry, Jrue Holiday and others worked out for the Knicks yesterday. The press didn’t have access to the workouts but they had access to the prospects afterwards. By all accounts, Curry crushed the workout. D’Antoni went so far as to compare the kid’s stroke to Allan Houston’s. D’Antoni said that directly to Curry, and I wish Curry didn’t tell the world about it, because Curry is already flying up draft boards. So now you have Bob Knight and Larry Brown praising Curry’s passing skills, you have Mike D’Antoni comparing his jumper to Allan Houston’s, you have Charles Oakley saying he’s got the best jumper on the planet, and Blake Griffin saying Curry is the second best prospect in the draft (Curry dropped 44 points on Oklahoma this year in a four point loss. To be fair, I doubt Griffin has scouted Rubio extensively.)

Curry also is not shy. When asked what kind of player he’ll be, he replied “A great one.” I love it. He’s got the right attitude for New York.

Holiday has gotten praise too. Mostly for his size and strength. He was hard on himself after yesterday’s workout, saying that he committed some dumb turnovers, but touting his D. It’s unclear at this point whether Holiday is rising or falling but he still seems like a lock for the top 10.

Info on BJ Mullens and some of the other prospects has been difficult to come by.

So what's the scenario?

Jun 9th, 2009
by Dan L.
20 comments

Here we go yo.

There are so many scenarios that could play out this offseason. We’re getting to the point of the summer where there is so much information, and misinformation, that my head is spinning. I’m going to run through a few of these and give proposed lineups for next season. Of course, the end result will probably be that none of these are right.

1. Knicks keep their pick and wind up with Jrue Holiday, Stephen Curry, or Johnny Flynn. They trade David Lee, Wilson Chandler and a 2011 draft pick for Chris Bosh. They trade Nate Robinson for Marcus Camby. They trade Cuttino Mobley for Darko Milicic. They buy a late first rounder. They sign Channing Frye. Starting 5:

pg: Holiday/Curry/Flynn

sg: Hughes

sf: Harrington

pf: Chris Bosh

c: Marcus Camby

bench: Gallinari, Chase Budinger, Darko Milicic, Duhon, Frye

2. Knicks trade Chandler, the eight overall pick, and Mobley for Darko Milicic, Darrell Arthur, and the second overall pick and take Ricky Rubio. They trade David Lee, a future first rounder, and Duhon to the Pistons for Tayshaun Prince and Amir Johnson. They trade Nate Robinson for Sergio and Frye. They buy a mid to late first rounder. They sign Gortat.

pg: Rubio

sg: Hughes

sf: Prince

pf: Harrington

c: Gortat

bench: Gallinari, Sergio, Budinger/Sam Young, Darko, Frye, Johnson, etc

3. Knicks trade Chandler, the eight overall pick, and Mobley for Darko Milicic, Darrell Arthur, and the second overall pick and use it on Thabeet. They trade David Lee, a future first rounder, and Duhon to the Pistons for Tayshaun Prince and Amir Johnson. They later trade Harrington and Nate for Etan Thomas, Mike James, and the fifth pick (Stephen Curry). They buy a mid-first rounder.

pg: Curry

sg: Hughes

sf: Prince

pf: Gallinari

c: Thabeet

bench: James, Johnson, Arthur, Henderson, etc.

4. The Knicks keep the 8th pick and select Curry. They trade Lee, Chandler and Duhon to the Blazers for Sergio Martell Webster, and Travis Outlaw. They trade Nate and Harrington to the Wizards for the 5th pick, Thomas and James. They trade Mobley for Darko and the 24th pick. They sign Frye and Gortat.

pg: Sergio/Curry

sg: Tyreke Evans/Curry/Webster/Hughes

sf: Outlaw/Webster

pf: Gallinari/Darko

c: Gortat/Darko

bench: Darko/Evans/Webster/Hughes/Sergio/Frye

I’m done now. This could go on all day. These all look like solid teams though, and the point is, a lot can happen to drastically reshape the roster. Let’s hear some of your scenarios…

← Earlier Posts