2023 draft thread

[Juggynaut]

The Western Conference is stacked.

Lakers (Big 3 with Kyrie?)
Grizzlies
Timberwolves
Denver (Starters healthy maybe)
Clippers (Stars healthy maybe)
Warriors
Suns (KD?)
Pelicans (Zion is back)
Blazers (Mediocrity with Lillard back)

The Mavs pick could be solid.

The Eastern Conference is also stacked.

Heat
Celtics
Bucks
76ers
Raptors
Bulls
Hawks
Cavaliers
Nets (They aren't tanking and are gonna get good assets)

I see another lottery season for us unless JB, RJ, or Julius put out an allstar season. All we can do is pray for lottery luck.

[cgmw]

OT: IDK who needs to hear this or why anyone would care, but I’ve decided to take a page out of Sham’s book and click “log out” of RGM for a while.

I’m like 100 shy of 20,000 stupid posts on this godforesaken forum which works out to nearly 3 posts a day, every single day for 19 years. Ousmane Dieng was 6 months old when I started posting here. Jalen Duren wasn’t born yet.

And the best part is if I didn’t post this, nobody would even notice and Eve wouldn’t wonder aloud if I’d been tied up and killed in a basement

I’ve got a lot of fun summer travel ahead and will “willingly and gratefully” take a break from my annual Summer League obsession since Deuce and Grimes will obviously dominate only to never crack Thibs’s rotation.

I solemnly swear I won’t log in to b*tch about Dolan if/when Leon trades all the kids this summer for a Super Max Cat. I will not troll the optimists or check Chanel when RJ finally gets the boot or the extension (I’d give him sh*t either way). Hardest of all, I promise to have the willpower not to engage in cheap dad jokes with Buzz, Wingo or Clyde.

See you fools in October when games start again… Or will I?

In closing, I ask: Seriously wtf is wrong with us? Why tf do we do this to ourselves?

PS: Go Knicks!

Spoiler:

(Westchester Knicks)

[Luv those Knicks]

I 100% get the criticism for Leon, but he traded a 2022 #11 pick for 3 future firsts, then he did a swap of 1sts and gave up 4 2nds to shed salary. The Knicks have 11 firsts and 11 2nds over the next 7 years. They're not dumping picks.

Now . . . future actions may change that, but for all Leon's flaws and unwillingness to do a full rebuild, has shown some respect for not giving away picks.

I understand and empathize with fan bias toward wanting to believe the Knicks have a shot at these up-and-coming prospects, but let’s look at the objective track-record here:

• 2022: Leon keeps Burks post-deadline, late-season win streak, brags about it in letter to ticket holders, apologizes for missing playoffs, gets 11 pick, trades out of draft.

• 2021: Extends 5 veterans including Randle, brings in Fournier/Kemba as starters, trades back in first round.

• 2020: Hires coach known for not playing rookies. Takes 23 year old “backup QB” (over obvious developmental higher ceiling guard Haliburton), stocks roster with vets to play ahead of Obi + ahead of literally every young player except RJ.

Objectively, it seems highly unlikely that Leon Rose and Tom Thibs have any intention of drafting impact rookies in 2023. The track record indicates Leon will do everything in his power to leverage those picks for the veteran help that Thibs craves and Dolan demands to make the playoffs as promised in his letter to ticket holders.

This thread, like hundreds if not thousands of hours of Knick YouTube content analyzing prospects, is entertaining but a total waste of time. The purpose of threads like these is simply to make some Knick fans feel better emotionally by pretending like one of these prospects might save us.

Could not have said it better myself. Great post dude. This needs to be pinned at the top of every thread we have here.

LOL, fan bias? Is that really what you read in my posts. Do you deny that the Knicks have 11 first round picks in the next 7 years? Do you deny that they've not traded away their picks. These are facts. It's not fan bias to point out things that are unquestionably true. Nothing I said was bias.

As for not trading Burks - you don't know what other teams offered. You don't know what was asked. They've sold players mid-season before, but as a rule, the return for the players the Knicks have had to sell wasn't all that much. Marcus Morris got a playoff team's first rounder, . . . and he was better than Burks, and had 1 year left, not 2.

2021 - That was a bad off-season with bad contracts.

Criticizing draft picks is almost silly. The draft is usually a crap-shoot, and the Knicks didn't do bad in 2020. If the draft was easy, the top 3 players in win shares picked in 2020 wouldn't have gone 12th, 30th and 21st.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_2020.html

[Jalen Bluntson]

I sure am glad I didn't spend any time at all watching games or draft videos etc. I did zero research this year on the draft.

Now it won't matter because we aren't trying to build through the draft at all. Most likely...all picks will be sent out in trade to build a contender that way. All signs point to yes here. Trading out of the lottery is the strongest indicator that this team has no intention/interest in focusing on drafting a star player. Not going youth movement when they drafted RJ and had a perfect opportunity to do so also indicates that they aren't all in on the draft.

They only end up in the lottery accidentally every time anyway. I don't think this team has shown much interest at all in the draft as a path to success since Dolan took over. They traded away picks like they were candy until Phil got here. They tried to tank once and RJ was drafted. That was the one and only time it was ever even discussed by this team. Then they tried winning immediately after that draft. The. They were replaced. Hmmm. They traded back to acquire assets and then traded completely out of the draft to clear cap to sign a FA.

I see no reason to even follow the draft for this team anymore. They aren't tanking and they aren't looking to do anything but use assets to make trades for a star player. It kind of makes sense the way the players act these days. Get max deals from your team then force your way out. That's the new norm. Seeing how they have treated the draft for the last two decades...they aren't interested at all. Maybe they take a shot next season in the deep draft because they have multiple picks but, I wouldn't think they'd be in the top of the lottery unless they accidentally tank again. If they can't find a trade that makes sense they will most likely kick the can for more future picks like they're doing now.

I doubt spend any time at all researching players for next year's draft. Whatever happens...happens. Have fun fellas.

[spree2kawhi]

It looks worse when you dont move up at all in the lotto. I believe every team has moved up except us in the last 20 years. They are not all getting the worst record. Pelicans and Grizzlies got 1st and 2nd picks with 33 wins

You're going to blame some of the Knicks last 20 years of failure on luck because we didn't move up? I kind of get what you're saying in terms of maybe getting lucky and getting Ja (for example). But that's a pretty lame excuse for the pathetic record the Knicks have over the past 20 years.

Why will next year be any different? Is Brunson going to add 15 wins? Hartenstein?

How many wins do you see Brunson adding to a team that had no pg all season?

I’m afraid we’ll only win 40 games at best. He’s okay, but everybody else upgrades too of course.

[thebuzzardman]

Knicks will trade or f*ck up the pick so who cares

[Gravy]

You're going to blame some of the Knicks last 20 years of failure on luck because we didn't move up? I kind of get what you're saying in terms of maybe getting lucky and getting Ja (for example). But that's a pretty lame excuse for the pathetic record the Knicks have over the past 20 years.

Why will next year be any different? Is Brunson going to add 15 wins? Hartenstein?

How many wins do you see Brunson adding to a team that had no pg all season?

I’m afraid we’ll only win 40 games at best. He’s okay, but everybody else upgrades too of course.

Nets and Hornets got worse. Bulls and Cavs stayed the same. We wont know what we look like until the games start but the Knicks have not had a pg like this since Linsanity or 2020 Rose as a backup.

[evevale]

OT: IDK who needs to hear this or why anyone would care, but I’ve decided to take a page out of Sham’s book and click “log out” of RGM for a while.

I’m like 100 shy of 20,000 stupid posts on this godforesaken forum which works out to nearly 3 posts a day, every single day for 19 years. Ousmane Dieng was 6 months old when I started posting here. Jalen Duren wasn’t born yet.

And the best part is if I didn’t post this, nobody would even notice and Eve wouldn’t wonder aloud if I’d been tied up and killed in a basement

I’ve got a lot of fun summer travel ahead and will “willingly and gratefully” take a break from my annual Summer League obsession since Deuce and Grimes will obviously dominate only to never crack Thibs’s rotation.

I solemnly swear I won’t log in to b*tch about Dolan if/when Leon trades all the kids this summer for a Super Max Cat. I will not troll the optimists or check Chanel when RJ finally gets the boot or the extension (I’d give him sh*t either way). Hardest of all, I promise to have the willpower not to engage in cheap dad jokes with Buzz, Wingo or Clyde.

See you fools in October when games start again… Or will I?

In closing, I ask: Seriously wtf is wrong with us? Why tf do we do this to ourselves?

PS: Go Knicks!

Spoiler:

(Westchester Knicks)

can we work on the self-talk on your break & travels? you're not a bad guy cgmw, i don't think anyone blames you for being as frustrated as you are - though the anti-dolan warchanting does get a bit excessive at times ...

and for what it's worth - i would wonder, though perhaps not aloud ... hope you have a good vacation

[Luv those Knicks]

You're going to blame some of the Knicks last 20 years of failure on luck because we didn't move up? I kind of get what you're saying in terms of maybe getting lucky and getting Ja (for example). But that's a pretty lame excuse for the pathetic record the Knicks have over the past 20 years.

Why will next year be any different? Is Brunson going to add 15 wins? Hartenstein?

How many wins do you see Brunson adding to a team that had no pg all season?

I’m afraid we’ll only win 40 games at best. He’s okay, but everybody else upgrades too of course.

I think Brunson makes us better. We had nothing at PG last year. Per basketball reference, and stats like this in basketball aren't 100% accurate, but Walker had 1.8 last year, Rose 1.4, Quickley had 4.2, but I think most people agree, he shouldn't be a starting PG. Brunson had 7.5, so pure numbers, he should add some wins.

Will Randle play closer to 20-21 and less like 21-22. Will RJ improve? Who will step up and replace Burks' 40% from 3, and I don't think Burks is a great player, but he's complimentary. They need someone to step up and shoot 40% from 3. Maybe a couple players.

Brunson adding 10 wins is certainly possible, or, the team struggling and finishing with 37-38 wins is possible. That's one of the things I'm looking forward to seeing this year. Granted, I was one of the morons who thought Walker & Fournier would make us better and . . . nope. But this coming year could go either way. 40 wins? 45? Probably 40-45 is the way to bet. I'm curious where Vegas will put them when they start putting out their betting lines.

[Gravy]

How many wins do you see Brunson adding to a team that had no pg all season?

I’m afraid we’ll only win 40 games at best. He’s okay, but everybody else upgrades too of course.

I think Brunson makes us better. We had nothing at PG last year. Per basketball reference, and stats like this in basketball aren't 100% accurate, but Walker had 1.8 last year, Rose 1.4, Quickley had 4.2, but I think most people agree, he shouldn't be a starting PG. Brunson had 7.5, so pure numbers, he should add some wins.

Will Randle play closer to 20-21 and less like 21-22. Will RJ improve? Who will step up and replace Burks' 40% from 3, and I don't think Burks is a great player, but he's complimentary. They need someone to step up and shoot 40% from 3. Maybe a couple players.

Brunson adding 10 wins is certainly possible, or, the team struggling and finishing with 37-38 wins is possible. That's one of the things I'm looking forward to seeing this year. Granted, I was one of the morons who thought Walker & Fournier would make us better and . . . nope. But this coming year could go either way. 40 wins? 45? Probably 40-45 is the way to bet. I'm curious where Vegas will put them when they start putting out their betting lines.

Yes, also its not that Brunson is such a great player that he adds 10-15 wins by himself, its that the team has someone to fill the pg position. Just about any decent pg should add wins by being able to run the offense which makes it easier on the other players so they can add wins too. The FO not only wants more wins but they invested heavily in Randle, Mitch, and Fournier and will have to decide on RJ soon. Going into another season with Burks or unproven IQ as pg will just make everybody look bad again with the fans turning on the team. At least now if the team sucks we cant blame the lack of pg.

[nykballa2k4]

OT: IDK who needs to hear this or why anyone would care, but I’ve decided to take a page out of Sham’s book and click “log out” of RGM for a while.

I’m like 100 shy of 20,000 stupid posts on this godforesaken forum which works out to nearly 3 posts a day, every single day for 19 years. Ousmane Dieng was 6 months old when I started posting here. Jalen Duren wasn’t born yet.

And the best part is if I didn’t post this, nobody would even notice and Eve wouldn’t wonder aloud if I’d been tied up and killed in a basement

I’ve got a lot of fun summer travel ahead and will “willingly and gratefully” take a break from my annual Summer League obsession since Deuce and Grimes will obviously dominate only to never crack Thibs’s rotation.

I solemnly swear I won’t log in to b*tch about Dolan if/when Leon trades all the kids this summer for a Super Max Cat. I will not troll the optimists or check Chanel when RJ finally gets the boot or the extension (I’d give him sh*t either way). Hardest of all, I promise to have the willpower not to engage in cheap dad jokes with Buzz, Wingo or Clyde.

See you fools in October when games start again… Or will I?

In closing, I ask: Seriously wtf is wrong with us? Why tf do we do this to ourselves?

PS: Go Knicks!

Spoiler:

(Westchester Knicks)

STFU GTFO

I am just going to call this "load management"

[RHODEY]

The Western Conference is stacked.

Lakers (Big 3 with Kyrie?)
Grizzlies
Timberwolves
Denver (Starters healthy maybe)
Clippers (Stars healthy maybe)
Warriors
Suns (KD?)
Pelicans (Zion is back)
Blazers (Mediocrity with Lillard back)

The Mavs pick could be solid.

The Eastern Conference is also stacked.

Heat
Celtics
Bucks
76ers
Raptors
Bulls
Hawks
Cavaliers
Nets (They aren't tanking and are gonna get good assets)

I see another lottery season for us unless JB, RJ, or Julius put out an allstar season. All we can do is pray for lottery luck.

Yep maybe we get a little lucky and it ends up in the teens.

[KnicksNext]

I sure am glad I didn't spend any time at all watching games or draft videos etc. I did zero research this year on the draft.

Now it won't matter because we aren't trying to build through the draft at all. Most likely...all picks will be sent out in trade to build a contender that way. All signs point to yes here. Trading out of the lottery is the strongest indicator that this team has no intention/interest in focusing on drafting a star player. Not going youth movement when they drafted RJ and had a perfect opportunity to do so also indicates that they aren't all in on the draft.

They only end up in the lottery accidentally every time anyway. I don't think this team has shown much interest at all in the draft as a path to success since Dolan took over. They traded away picks like they were candy until Phil got here. They tried to tank once and RJ was drafted. That was the one and only time it was ever even discussed by this team. Then they tried winning immediately after that draft. The. They were replaced. Hmmm. They traded back to acquire assets and then traded completely out of the draft to clear cap to sign a FA.

I see no reason to even follow the draft for this team anymore. They aren't tanking and they aren't looking to do anything but use assets to make trades for a star player. It kind of makes sense the way the players act these days. Get max deals from your team then force your way out. That's the new norm. Seeing how they have treated the draft for the last two decades...they aren't interested at all. Maybe they take a shot next season in the deep draft because they have multiple picks but, I wouldn't think they'd be in the top of the lottery unless they accidentally tank again. If they can't find a trade that makes sense they will most likely kick the can for more future picks like they're doing now.

I doubt spend any time at all researching players for next year's draft. Whatever happens...happens. Have fun fellas.

Sad, but true

[KnicksNext]

How many wins do you see Brunson adding to a team that had no pg all season?

I’m afraid we’ll only win 40 games at best. He’s okay, but everybody else upgrades too of course.

I think Brunson makes us better. We had nothing at PG last year. Per basketball reference, and stats like this in basketball aren't 100% accurate, but Walker had 1.8 last year, Rose 1.4, Quickley had 4.2, but I think most people agree, he shouldn't be a starting PG. Brunson had 7.5, so pure numbers, he should add some wins.

Will Randle play closer to 20-21 and less like 21-22. Will RJ improve? Who will step up and replace Burks' 40% from 3, and I don't think Burks is a great player, but he's complimentary. They need someone to step up and shoot 40% from 3. Maybe a couple players.

Brunson adding 10 wins is certainly possible, or, the team struggling and finishing with 37-38 wins is possible. That's one of the things I'm looking forward to seeing this year. Granted, I was one of the morons who thought Walker & Fournier would make us better and . . . nope. But this coming year could go either way. 40 wins? 45? Probably 40-45 is the way to bet. I'm curious where Vegas will put them when they start putting out their betting lines.

I was searching for this but I couldn't find it anywhere. Have you seen it posted somewhere? Anyone? Thanks

[Nazrmohamed]

We shouldn't be drafting anyone next yr.

[Luv those Knicks]

I’m afraid we’ll only win 40 games at best. He’s okay, but everybody else upgrades too of course.

I think Brunson makes us better. We had nothing at PG last year. Per basketball reference, and stats like this in basketball aren't 100% accurate, but Walker had 1.8 last year, Rose 1.4, Quickley had 4.2, but I think most people agree, he shouldn't be a starting PG. Brunson had 7.5, so pure numbers, he should add some wins.

Will Randle play closer to 20-21 and less like 21-22. Will RJ improve? Who will step up and replace Burks' 40% from 3, and I don't think Burks is a great player, but he's complimentary. They need someone to step up and shoot 40% from 3. Maybe a couple players.

Brunson adding 10 wins is certainly possible, or, the team struggling and finishing with 37-38 wins is possible. That's one of the things I'm looking forward to seeing this year. Granted, I was one of the morons who thought Walker & Fournier would make us better and . . . nope. But this coming year could go either way. 40 wins? 45? Probably 40-45 is the way to bet. I'm curious where Vegas will put them when they start putting out their betting lines.

I was searching for this but I couldn't find it anywhere. Have you seen it posted somewhere? Anyone? Thanks

It's too soon. Vegas wouldn't post odds before teams are set, or, at least, they won't take bets, so they probably wouldn't post odds. There's no advantage to it.

[KnicksNext]

I think Brunson makes us better. We had nothing at PG last year. Per basketball reference, and stats like this in basketball aren't 100% accurate, but Walker had 1.8 last year, Rose 1.4, Quickley had 4.2, but I think most people agree, he shouldn't be a starting PG. Brunson had 7.5, so pure numbers, he should add some wins.

Will Randle play closer to 20-21 and less like 21-22. Will RJ improve? Who will step up and replace Burks' 40% from 3, and I don't think Burks is a great player, but he's complimentary. They need someone to step up and shoot 40% from 3. Maybe a couple players.

Brunson adding 10 wins is certainly possible, or, the team struggling and finishing with 37-38 wins is possible. That's one of the things I'm looking forward to seeing this year. Granted, I was one of the morons who thought Walker & Fournier would make us better and . . . nope. But this coming year could go either way. 40 wins? 45? Probably 40-45 is the way to bet. I'm curious where Vegas will put them when they start putting out their betting lines.

I was searching for this but I couldn't find it anywhere. Have you seen it posted somewhere? Anyone? Thanks

It's too soon. Vegas wouldn't post odds before teams are set, or, at least, they won't take bets, so they probably wouldn't post odds. There's no advantage to it.

There are usually odds for everything somewhere, regardless of the timing. Some book somewhere probably has them up. No biggie tho, was only curious

[Jeffrey]

OT: IDK who needs to hear this or why anyone would care, but I’ve decided to take a page out of Sham’s book and click “log out” of RGM for a while.

I’m like 100 shy of 20,000 stupid posts on this godforesaken forum which works out to nearly 3 posts a day, every single day for 19 years. Ousmane Dieng was 6 months old when I started posting here. Jalen Duren wasn’t born yet.

And the best part is if I didn’t post this, nobody would even notice and Eve wouldn’t wonder aloud if I’d been tied up and killed in a basement

I’ve got a lot of fun summer travel ahead and will “willingly and gratefully” take a break from my annual Summer League obsession since Deuce and Grimes will obviously dominate only to never crack Thibs’s rotation.

I solemnly swear I won’t log in to b*tch about Dolan if/when Leon trades all the kids this summer for a Super Max Cat. I will not troll the optimists or check Chanel when RJ finally gets the boot or the extension (I’d give him sh*t either way). Hardest of all, I promise to have the willpower not to engage in cheap dad jokes with Buzz, Wingo or Clyde.

See you fools in October when games start again… Or will I?

In closing, I ask: Seriously wtf is wrong with us? Why tf do we do this to ourselves?

PS: Go Knicks!

Spoiler:

(Westchester Knicks)

Oh you're doing a Leon Rose I see.

take that mental health break and come back in time for regular season.

[stuporman]

Waaaahhhh they didn't take my binky because traded the pick so the Knicks hate the draft and won't ever use another draft pick again waaaaaahhhhh

[HopelessKnick]

Keep in mind that the Knicks have been pretty lucky in terms of injuries the past two seasons. Granted , Rose and Walker had their share of injuries but other than that most players were healthy 90% of the time. These things usually balance out over time and the Knicks are bound to have an injury riddled season. By itself this team may have put itself in position to "challenge" for 35-40 wins ( ) but a couple injuries here and there and that number could easily decrease by 5-10. I wouldn't count out the possibility of the Knicks ending up with a 7th/8th pick at all---IMO there are only 4-5 teams that are extremely likely to finish worse than the Knicks.