MVN - Most Valuable Network

Get To The Point

Knicks President Donnie Walsh and head coach Mike D’Antoni will likely be looking for their point-guard-of-the-future during Thursday night’s draft. With the 6th overall pick and no second round pick the Knicks may be looking to trade the 6th pick and/or talent to get multiple picks or acquire talent from another roster. The Knicks will certainly we anxiously waiting to see what top 3-5 talent fall to them at #6.

If OJ Mayo falls to the 6th selection I’d expect the card to be run up to the podium quickly. With Eddie Curry being Eddie Curry and Zach Randolph not fitting D’Antoni’s style players such as Brook Lopez, DeAndre Jordan and Italian star Danilo Gallinari have to have an eye kept on them.

More than likely the Knicks will be looking to run their offense and breath new life into the Garden floor. As far as point guards who could be available to the Knicks the list can be narrowed down to 5 prospects.

1—
Derrick Rose, 6-3, 196, Memphis, FR: Has been described as the second coming of Jason Kidd with better scoring ability. I think Rose is for sure the #1 over to Chicago. Beasley is an absolute beast but point guards like Rose don’t come around very often.

2—
Jerryd Bayless, 6-3, 204, Arizona, FR: Bayless is a better shooter than Rose. Lets not forget other Arizona guards such as Jason Terry, Damon Stoudamire and Mike Bibby. If Bayless could live up to that level of play, especially if he can play like Stoudamire or more favorable Bibby) he’d be a welcome addition. He’s not my favorite pick but he’d improve our roster. Some experts consider Bayless an over-rated prospect.

3—
Russell Westbrook, 6-3, 192, UCLA, SO: Great athlete who was hampered a bit by playing next to fellow point guard Darren Collison in a type of two point guard system. Westbrook is especially attractive because of his strong defensive ability. His skill set could improve the Knicks roster at its weakest points. Not a bad selection.

4—
Eric Gordon, 6-3, 222, Indiana, FR: Gordon is a shooting guard who isn’t big enough to play there in the NBA. He’s definitely a scorer but can he run an offense in the NBA? I wouldn’t pick Gordon.

5—
DJ Augustin, 6-0, 172, Texas, SO: Augustin is a very VERY good point guard in the making but he’s short. If you can see past his height then he’s a great pick. He’s run the team, play some defense and he’ll shoot a bit. I personally love his game. I wouldn’t pick him at #6 if guys like Mayo, Bayless or Westbrook are available but if he moved down to somewhere in the 10-15 range I’d be thrilled to add Augustin to the roster. Picture Nate Robinson with legit point guard skills.

There are also special factors Walsh has to deal with this year at the draft. Danilo Gallinari, who would be a great addition to D’Antoni’s system, has been quoted as only wanting to play for the Knicks. He’s reportedly only worked out for the Nets and the Knicks.

The Knicks also have players they’d like to trade so we should keep an eye out for us either getting a second round pick or multiple or Walsh simply waiting till the player he wants in selected and then working out a deal for the rights to the player by trading talent or spending money. One such player that’s available would also fill our point guard need, Toronto Raptors TJ Ford. Ford would be a MONSTER addition to our roster in my opinion. I’d be all for acquiring him. Rumor is there’s a deal in the works for Ford between Toronto and Indiana. You’ll see different variations but the most popular version has the Indiana Pacers sending six time All-Star forward/center Jermaine O’Neal to the Toronto Raptors for guard T.J. Ford, center Rasho Nesterovic, and the Number 17 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. I’m not to hot on this deal because I think O’neal would be good on a team with other stars but he’s not going to elevate the Raptors so I don’t see the point on the high price to get him for them. Time will tell if this deal goes through or not. If it does, expect Walsh to make a call and see if something could be worked out.

What do I want to come out of the draft with? I would like Mayo, Westbrook or Augustin if we go point guard in the first round. I want a second round pick if not more than one so we need to work a trade out. If we could add a Brandon Rush or a Chris Douglas Roberts or a Nicolas Batum or a Omer Asik or a Serge Ibaka or a Courtney Lee or a Bill Walker or a Kyle Weaver or a Goran Dragic or a Semih Erden or a George Hill or a Damjan Rudez or a Joey Dorsey or a DeMarcus Nelson or a Othello Hunter they would improve our roster.

Brandon Rush, Chris Douglas Roberts, Kyle Weaver, Joey Dorsey, Goran Dragic and DeMarcus Nelson are my favorites on that list. Don’t be mistaken, Goran Dragic could easily run D’Antoni’s system and impress quickly from day one as a second round pick if Walsh decides to go with another position instead of point guard in the first round. I would wait to see if Mayo falls to #6 and if not I’d immediately call to check on TJ Ford. If neither one of those options are available or attainable, I’d look at players like Westbrook, Augustin and position players like Gallinari. I wouldn’t be surprised if we go with another position in the first round instead of point guard if Mayo is gone because of the European players such as Dragic who will be able to step into D’Antoni’s system available later on. Honestly, I’d be underhanded about the entire process and call Gallinari and have him not sign anywhere so the Knicks could then sign him. He could either drop out of the draft all together or just tell whatever team that selects him that he will only play for the Knicks and they’d have to trade him to us. I know, its totally dishonest and all but I don’t care I want to watch some good basketball for a change. Come on Walsh, show us why you got the job!

Credit: Marc Berman and Lenn Robbins of The NY Post

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 2:33 am and is filed under Mike D'Antoni, Zach Randolph, Mike Bibby, Jason Kidd, Knicks, Madison Square Garden, NBA Draft Lottery, Derrick Rose, Mike Beasley, O.J.Mayo, Eric Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, 2008 NBA Draft, MSG, Steve Nash, Nate Robinson, Chicago Bulls, NBA, Trade Rumors, New York Newspapers, Draft Resources, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Knicks Trades, Knicks Signings, Knicks Transactions, Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, New York Knickerbockers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.