NO ONE on this team right now should be untouchable. NO ONE on this team right now has screamed to me that they are MUST to build around. It is what it is...
So the notion that you have to start trying to fit whomever you draft into the guys on this team is a reach. No, you don't say can player 'x' fit with "a, b and c". You look at player 'x' and you ask yourself, can this guy be a legit star? A game changer? On and by the way, can he theoretically also fit with the guys I do have.
The reason we are talking PG's is because it just so happens that there's a heavy concentration of them slotted to go in the top part of this draft. It shouldn't be because that's what this team needs. This team is probably the 2nd least talented team in the NBA right now. It's a stinker of a team. It has no Zion like player. It doesn't even have a Ja like player. Nothing. So stop trying to fit the guy that they'll be drafting into this current mix so much so that it clouds judgement. If I was the Pelican's, then yeah, I'm probably ready to look at fit more than anything else. But we aren't at that point yet.
Who I like if I were in charge?
I'd be looking for game changer players, guys that can become legit stars in the NBA. So I'd be looking at guys who's game and mentality can dominate and do well in the NBA. REGARDLESS of who I got on this team.
What I'd be interested in most is not to figure out if LaMelo Ball can ever learn to shoot, it's to figure out what his mentality really is (not the assumed drama mentality being a Ball) or anything like that.
Honestly, my top priority would be to try to get a real feel for James Wiseman and how much of a competitor he really is and what really is his capacity to step up and elevate his game when the competition gets harder. That would be my no.1 task? Why? Cause of all the players in this draft, Wiseman is the guy that absolutely can dominate if everything clicks on. More than anyone else. And no, if Wiseman can give me the warm and fuzzy feeling it absolutely does not matter if we already have Mitch Robinson or how good Mitch is or can be. Why? Cause I can flip Robinson for something else I can maximize value on.
Then it's onto LaMelo Ball and try to figure out if his mentality and makeup, and game, will translate better than his brother Lonzo's and what will I be getting once the lights AND pressure AND criticism turn on here. Would my assumption that he's made more for NY than any other player in this draft be correct?
So Ball and Wiseman, Wiseman and Ball, would be my top 2. Then I go from there.
Finding a shooter? Look. I'm not discounting shooting. Nor am I discounting how shooting could open up the floor for some of the other guys on the team. And yep, the NBA now puts a premium on shooting. But unless there's a Steph Curry in this draft (there isn't) the Knicks have a bigger need than a shooter at the top of their no.1 need list. So, again, no, shooting isn't the most important thing when figuring out who to draft. You can find shooting. You can't find a premium talent, an alpha lead, a game changer remotely as easily. If it were then we wouldn't be in the situation we've been in for over 2 decades running.
So, yeah, Wiseman and Ball would be at the top of my list. Then it's everyone else in some form.
So what happens if the Knicks don't end up with a top 3 or so pick (what you need to get Wiseman or Ball)? Killian Hayes next.
What if Hayes, Wiseman and Ball are gone? BPA Anthony Edwards would be where I'd lean. What about Barrett? What about him? IF Edwards is who I believe he can be and he lives up to the billing then I can: a) move Barrett to SF, b) move Barrett.
What if Edwards, Hayes, Wiseman and Ball are gone? I'd start moving to Deni Avdija and seeing how I feel about his game (and he's probably one of the most talented young players in this draft with a mentality that you find more here in the stats than anything else)? Where would he play? SF? What does it mean for Knox? It means if Knox can't step his game up then he's not going to be playing and/or be around for long.
Next? I have said this before, I think Onyeka Okongwu can be a special player in the NBA. He has the physical tools, the feel, the defensive chops and a pretty unique evolving offensive game. I do think he can become a Pascall Siakam level player (no obviously they don't play the same position or have the same exact skills).
Cole Anthony then would come in after that as, again, while I don't think he'll win you games with his PG skills, he can make an impact on the offensive end and as a high intensity attack dog type. A tough competitor that can at least help set a tone that I want my team to have.
That's 7 right? Those would be the guys I focus on. That would be my 7. That's the high talent and/or IMO the legit high upside guys. Obviously depending on what happens till draft time (more games and standing change, lottery results, etc.) If I end up with one of them I'd be anywhere from ecstatic to at least solidly ok with.
The rest of the guys? There are a lot of guys that are putting up stats and looking great in college that I honestly don't think will be able to translate to the NBA and/or that doesn't have much in the way of ceiling (Haliburton headlines this group). Doesn't mean they can't contribute, just means that it's not going to be someone that likely will push the needle for me enough. And I'm absolutely looking for a guy that can move the needle for me be it immediately (unlikely) or 2 or 3 years from now (much more realistic). I'm not shopping for role players or secondary guys where I am. Role players and secondary guys? That's what free agency is for since I'd be pretty clear that no needle movers will be signing with my schlep of a team.
There are also guys that I think will flub out completely (RJ Hampton to me is going to be the another Dante Exum). Yep it's most of the rest of the guys in the Tankathon mock lottery. If the Knicks end up at a spot where the the guys I mentioned already are all gone...then I move on and see if I which of the rest of these guys can give me a solid role player down the road and not flub out on me by not being able to mentally (or game wise) adjust to not being "da main man" in the NBA.
Hell yall was on that same Bs with Garland last season and he’s terrible...
