KB2011 MOCK: 17th Pick Knicks Select Donatas Motiejunas

[ManiaX]

I'm just not really sold on Donatas. I don't think he will be as good as Bargs. Rebounding and D are so crucial from big men especially in the playoffs. Plus we have Amare.

I think Donatas could eventually go to a bad team and put up some scoring numbers, but I just don't see how he helps us.

The problem with drafting someone like this to be a trade chip is that you also have to spend time to develop him. When rookies are stuck on the bench there trade value plummets (Hill, AR). I don't think we are in a good situation to develop him.

Its almost the same thing with Selby. We would have to develop him. But I would still take Selby over Motie. I think he has a better chance to meet his potential.

It would be pretty much down to Faried or Selby for me. I'm not really too crazy about anyone else here. Selby is just too much of a question mark for me. So I would go with Faried.

I would def try to get some more picks to take some more chances, but we need some rotation guys in this draft.

Actually we are finally in a position to develop players. If they truly belong in this league, they will work hard in practice and get advice from the vets like Amare, Melo, and Billups.

AR is a bad example, because from all the reports he didn't work hard and wanted out. Hill and Moz got traded because they were important pieces to larger deals.

You can't say Monti won't be as good as Bargs when Monti doesn't play anything like Bargs. Monti likes to post up and play down low. Similar to Gasol when he was in Memphis. Not saying Monti will be the next Gasol, but at his age his skill set offensively is more closely related to Gasol. Will he struggle to defend and rebound? Yes, but so does Amare, and so did Mozgov.

At the end of the day, I would rather have a talented legit 7 fter playing Center than I would Shawne Williams or Jeffries.

[BrOnXKing1]

I'm just not really sold on Donatas. I don't think he will be as good as Bargs. Rebounding and D are so crucial from big men especially in the playoffs. Plus we have Amare.

I think Donatas could eventually go to a bad team and put up some scoring numbers, but I just don't see how he helps us.

The problem with drafting someone like this to be a trade chip is that you also have to spend time to develop him. When rookies are stuck on the bench there trade value plummets (Hill, AR). I don't think we are in a good situation to develop him.

Its almost the same thing with Selby. We would have to develop him. But I would still take Selby over Motie. I think he has a better chance to meet his potential.

It would be pretty much down to Faried or Selby for me. I'm not really too crazy about anyone else here. Selby is just too much of a question mark for me. So I would go with Faried.

I would def try to get some more picks to take some more chances, but we need some rotation guys in this draft.

Faried has just as many question marks as anybody. Hes no defensive stopper or intimidator. Wed basically just be drafting an athletic rebounder with no skills.

I find it crazy honestly that anyone would take Faried over Donatas, and if we're going with potential then Donatas has much more of it than Selby, being 8 inches taller.

Never. Reach. For. Need. Thats what you're doing, and Faried isnt even guaranteed to fill anything. Donatas has talent you dont pass on for an undersized rebounder.

We'll get some mercenaries in free agency to do the dirty work.

Donatas doesnt play defense or rebound. He might have potential to be good player down the line. But at this point in his career he cant play in this league defensively. This guy is a long term project. If he did play for us next year or the year after, he would just make our weaknesses worse.

[ManiaX]

My dream draft is brooks, selby and motie. and I'd make both toney and fields available to make it happen.

Why trade Toney and Selby when you don't have too?

Both of them are solid rotation players on a good team. I wish they would stop being criticized so much after one bad playoff series.

Toney was a combo guard when he was drafted, it is nothing new. No reason you can't have more than one combo guard on a team. Billups is going to get the majority of minutes at PG. Selby would be lucky to crack the rotation.

Fields played SG all season long and nobody complained about him being a SF. If anything he is not strong or long enough to play SF. He is a rookie with a strong work ethic, I would rather take my chances on letting him improve his game.

I've already paid my respects to each player. toney played like a lion with a shoulder injury, that said, If i had to choose selby over him i would.

as far as fields, I'm not gonna have a discussion with were i deeming our players. but as i said in my post, if i had the choice between selby and brooks over fields and toney, I'm going with selby and brooks.

Fair enough.

I agree with having Selby over Douglas for our team, but I hold onto TD until Selby is ready to contribute than I trade TD at the trade deadline.

I'm not a fan of Brooks. I don't think he fits our team. He's another scorer that once he touches the ball he doesn't look to pass. Reminds me of a SG version of Al Harrington. I would rather go a whole season with Selby at SG than I would Brooks.

[TrueWarrior]

Donatas doesnt play defense or rebound. He might have potential to be good player down the line. But at this point in his career he cant play in this league defensively. This guy is a long term project. If he did play for us next year or the year after, he would just make our weaknesses worse.

I dont think Donatas is much of a project at all. He has NBA ready skills and has put on a good 15 pounds in the last year. He might have some mental maturing to do still but I dont see why he cant come off the bench next year and give us some offense.

Im a BPA guy. I dont care that Donatas doesnt fill a specific need of ours. He does fill one big need though... TALENT.

How many 7 footers do you know as athletic and skilled as Motie? If he drops for whatever reason then we should happily snatch him up. Buy another pick and get a guard, then try and sign some goons in free agency to rebound/take up space.

We need to be like Jerry Reese here. BPA all the way. No matter what.

[Marty McFly]

Fields was a top 5 rookie. Trading him for a mid round pick would be terrible.

Fields still shot 39% from 3 in the NBA. Brooks shot 34% in college.

It just doesn't make sense to me.

bro, it doesn't have to make sense to you. it was my opinion. its what i think.

i already know what fields is, and i happen to want a little more from my shooting guard.

[Bklyn&company]

I like Vucevic, Selby and Brooks. Motie has too many question. Brooks should be the pick if we are trying to win now. Brooks is set and ready to win the SG spot, he will become that third scorer for us when Melo and Stats are resting. Selby really has no position and I have serious questions about him guarding nba SG's and if ask playing PG. I really don't want to see midget back courts anymore. Vucevic I like but again like Selby i'm worried about his defense. Good offensive bigmen but very slow on defense. Maybe a decent rebounder(7 -8 per max as a starter) but he wont improve our D, reminds me of a little more athletic Michael Doleac. Motie is a big question mark, the dudes contact situation is a problem. Concern he could be Fran Vasquez 2.0. I'm really concern about picking these euro dudes, you never what you are going to get, a Barg or T.Spliter, and a Barg or T.Spliter is not what we need. If we are trying to win now Motie is not the way to go.

Brooks makes the most sense, he's the most ready and most prepared. He will play good Defense and i believe will put a good amount of point on the broad for us.

[Deeeez Knicks]

I'm just not really sold on Donatas. I don't think he will be as good as Bargs. Rebounding and D are so crucial from big men especially in the playoffs. Plus we have Amare.

I think Donatas could eventually go to a bad team and put up some scoring numbers, but I just don't see how he helps us.

The problem with drafting someone like this to be a trade chip is that you also have to spend time to develop him. When rookies are stuck on the bench there trade value plummets (Hill, AR). I don't think we are in a good situation to develop him.

Its almost the same thing with Selby. We would have to develop him. But I would still take Selby over Motie. I think he has a better chance to meet his potential.

It would be pretty much down to Faried or Selby for me. I'm not really too crazy about anyone else here. Selby is just too much of a question mark for me. So I would go with Faried.

I would def try to get some more picks to take some more chances, but we need some rotation guys in this draft.

Faried has just as many question marks as anybody. Hes no defensive stopper or intimidator. Wed basically just be drafting an athletic rebounder with no skills.

I find it crazy honestly that anyone would take Faried over Donatas, and if we're going with potential then Donatas has much more of it than Selby, being 8 inches taller.

Never. Reach. For. Need. Thats what you're doing, and Faried isnt even guaranteed to fill anything. Donatas has talent you dont pass on for an undersized rebounder.

We'll get some mercenaries in free agency to do the dirty work.

Of course everybody has questions marks, but I feel better about Faried’s then some of the other players. I love the way he plays with heart and plays hard on the floor. That usually translates. I’m probably in the minority there. Its just personal preference.

I disagree about reaching. We are picking #17. You guys are fooling yourselves if you think we’re getting a star or even a high quality starter at #17. If we can get a guy who can be in our rotation and help us then it’s a good pick and not a reach.

As far as potential…. A lot of time the guys that get labeled as low ceiling players such as David Lee, Boozer, Noah, Fields, even Granger are the ones that end up panning out. Potential is tough to measure.

I’m all for big men mercenaries, but they are expensive and we can’t waste our 2012 flexibility for scrubs. Guys like Foster, Reggie Evans, Dalmembert…they were making a lot of dough last year. Guys like Junkyard dog and Turiaf, Haywood, Nick Collison, Amir Johnson….these type of guys get paid for a reason. It might not look pretty, they are not flashy, maybe they don't have much skill or are scrubs, but they still serve a very valuable role that every team needs.

At the end of the day I will support and won’t be mad at anyone we draft. They all have a chance to be good players. The odds are just against them all.

[can o peas]

My dream draft is brooks, selby and motie. and I'd make both toney and fields available to make it happen.

yeah I like those three guys the most at our pick but I don't think we can land all three. not sure if I'd trade fields yet. I'm kind of surprised selby isn't higher in votes, was expecting more of a showdown.

[Deeeez Knicks]

Fields was a top 5 rookie. Trading him for a mid round pick would be terrible.

Fields still shot 39% from 3 in the NBA. Brooks shot 34% in college.

It just doesn't make sense to me.

bro, it doesn't have to make sense to you. it was my opinion. its what i think.

i already know what fields is, and i happen to want a little more from my shooting guard.

Fair enough. But it still doesn't make sense to me.

[Deeeez Knicks]

I'm just not really sold on Donatas. I don't think he will be as good as Bargs. Rebounding and D are so crucial from big men especially in the playoffs. Plus we have Amare.

I think Donatas could eventually go to a bad team and put up some scoring numbers, but I just don't see how he helps us.

The problem with drafting someone like this to be a trade chip is that you also have to spend time to develop him. When rookies are stuck on the bench there trade value plummets (Hill, AR). I don't think we are in a good situation to develop him.

Its almost the same thing with Selby. We would have to develop him. But I would still take Selby over Motie. I think he has a better chance to meet his potential.

It would be pretty much down to Faried or Selby for me. I'm not really too crazy about anyone else here. Selby is just too much of a question mark for me. So I would go with Faried.

I would def try to get some more picks to take some more chances, but we need some rotation guys in this draft.

Actually we are finally in a position to develop players. If they truly belong in this league, they will work hard in practice and get advice from the vets like Amare, Melo, and Billups.

AR is a bad example, because from all the reports he didn't work hard and wanted out. Hill and Moz got traded because they were important pieces to larger deals.

You can't say Monti won't be as good as Bargs when Monti doesn't play anything like Bargs. Monti likes to post up and play down low. Similar to Gasol when he was in Memphis. Not saying Monti will be the next Gasol, but at his age his skill set offensively is more closely related to Gasol. Will he struggle to defend and rebound? Yes, but so does Amare, and so did Mozgov.

At the end of the day, I would rather have a talented legit 7 fter playing Center than I would Shawne Williams or Jeffries.

It just worries me that Donatas was the worst rebounding bigman in all of Italy when we need a good rebounder next to Amare. I really don't like big men who are terrible rebounders. Its like a chick who doesn't brush her teeth or shave her arm pits. Just put in a little effort

[moocow007]

Jonathon Givony posted his new mock draft.

Has us taking Jordan Hamilton over Motie, Vucevic, Faried, Selby, Shumpert, Brooks
who wasn't even on my radar?

What's his skillset. Shot 38% from 3 last year. Is he a shooter? Looks like he has great size. Compared to Stephen Jackson..

Also if his mock draft is accurate, I like the value at the end of the first round. Motie, Vucevic, Faried, Selby, Shumpert, and Brooks all seem like they'll be atleast decent role players in this league.

We need to acquire a mid 20's pick and grab 1 if not 2. Is that possible at this point? Who's shopping.

This whole time I'm sort of hoping one of these guys falls to us, meanwhile it seems well be passing on them.

Givony's a Raptor fan isn't he. That would explain why then.

[can o peas]

I'm just not really sold on Donatas. I don't think he will be as good as Bargs. Rebounding and D are so crucial from big men especially in the playoffs. Plus we have Amare.

I think Donatas could eventually go to a bad team and put up some scoring numbers, but I just don't see how he helps us.

The problem with drafting someone like this to be a trade chip is that you also have to spend time to develop him. When rookies are stuck on the bench there trade value plummets (Hill, AR). I don't think we are in a good situation to develop him.

Its almost the same thing with Selby. We would have to develop him. But I would still take Selby over Motie. I think he has a better chance to meet his potential.

It would be pretty much down to Faried or Selby for me. I'm not really too crazy about anyone else here. Selby is just too much of a question mark for me. So I would go with Faried.

I would def try to get some more picks to take some more chances, but we need some rotation guys in this draft.

Actually we are finally in a position to develop players. If they truly belong in this league, they will work hard in practice and get advice from the vets like Amare, Melo, and Billups.

AR is a bad example, because from all the reports he didn't work hard and wanted out. Hill and Moz got traded because they were important pieces to larger deals.

You can't say Monti won't be as good as Bargs when Monti doesn't play anything like Bargs. Monti likes to post up and play down low. Similar to Gasol when he was in Memphis. Not saying Monti will be the next Gasol, but at his age his skill set offensively is more closely related to Gasol. Will he struggle to defend and rebound? Yes, but so does Amare, and so did Mozgov.

At the end of the day, I would rather have a talented legit 7 fter playing Center than I would Shawne Williams or Jeffries.

It just worries me that Donatas was the worst rebounding bigman in all of Italy when we need a good rebounder next to Amare. I really don't like big men who are terrible rebounders. Its like a chick who doesn't brush her teeth or shave her arm pits. Just put in a little effort

while he definitely needs to work on it, he did ok in the eurocup:
http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/ulebcu ... ason_U2010

(yes that is our very own magic lampe )

[moocow007]

I think the pick (assuming the above guys are what's left on the board) is between Brooks and Motiejunas.

As much as Motiejunas looked (bad) in that workout what was pretty good to see was just how big and strong he looked (pretty impressive actually tbh). And he's more mobile than Vucevic (who also has had his desire/intensity questioned...so not like Vucevic is a lock in the "not soft" department) and has a higher upside. Vucevic is the more physically incline of the two (though by no means is he a grinder or a mauler himself).

Brooks is the best SG on the board and his ability to score (pretty much just about anywhere on the floor) really can't be ignored. Not quite Kobe but he's got a real interesting air about him that says that he's going to be an impact player in the NBA.

If they are going for a big then might as well Motiejunas. If they are going for a small might as well Brooks. Selby is the only other guy on the list that I'd be interested in as a 3rd option.

The one benefit of Brooks over Motiejunas (skills aside) is that Brooks appears to be less high maintenance and less likely to need to be pushed to perform in the NBA. That IMHO makes Brooks the less risky pick. Also from a pure talent standpoint, I think Brooks is more talented relatively speaking. But size matters.

[Bklyn&company]

Fields was a top 5 rookie. Trading him for a mid round pick would be terrible.

Fields still shot 39% from 3 in the NBA. Brooks shot 34% in college.

It just doesn't make sense to me.

bro, it doesn't have to make sense to you. it was my opinion. its what i think.

i already know what fields is, and i happen to want a little more from my shooting guard.

Fair enough. But it still doesn't make sense to me.

FYI, Field's shot 33.7% from 3 his senior year in college. Players can improve with training (especially from Tim Grover) and from what I here Brooks is hitting 18-22 out 25 NBA 3's in all of his workouts.

[ibraheim718]

Something else that I picked up on Junas is he speaks english really well which is a huge asset.

[DowNY]

I'm set on Selby. Just don't know if it should be 17. I really hope we get a mid 20 pick & he's still there. I'd throw in Turiaf & walker on top of money for mid 20 pick. So at 17, we could draft Brooks. I figure at that point, between selby,Brooks,douglas, & fields, 2 of those players, maybe even 3 are in a package for cp3 at the deadline. We go into FA & training camp focused on bigs instead of taking chances on these guys in draft. I feel like most bigs will be busts this year from the draft.

[Manhattan Project]

Dude stop with the DAntoni made the playoffs last year. We made the playoffs last year despite DAntoni, futhermore anyone can make the playoffs when you have 2 of the top 10 players in the NBA. Our biggest problem is defense and rebounding. If DAntoni was a good defensive coach i would say draft Montiejunas b/c despite having a guy on the front line that plays a lick of D, we can would have a good scheme. But we dont have a good defensive scheme, and we will never win a championship in without one. That is a fact, the mavs finally won a championship when Tyson Chandler and Rick Carlisle brought some toughness to this team. We are in a similar situation.

It's also foolish to completely overlook any contribution D'Antoni has had for us. Yeah we all know that he has a hell of a lot of defaults, but he is not the worse thing in the world. This isn't a Rick Carlisle situation in which he made conference finals after conference finals and couldn't get over the hump which led the Pistons to Larry Brown. It's rare to see teams fire coaches that are playoff teams, that's just a fact. The only way D'Antoni goes is if he walks away. Why would he walk away? Why would D'Antoni be fired after Walsh stepped down, a brand new GM isn't going to come in and fire D'Antoni. If we are as good as we should be, you don't fire a 50 win coach. It's that simple.

Rick Carlisle and the Mavericks essentially rolled the dice on Chandler. Do people even remember the trade? I'll bring it up. Traded by the Charlotte Bobcats with Alexis Ajinca to the Dallas Mavericks for Matt Carroll, Erick Dampier, Eduardo Najera and cash. That is what's called hitting the jackpot, again so very rare. It was a healthy Chandler that made the difference, not Carlisle.

We don't run a SSOL anymore, we are a half court team. In a half court setting it comes down to the players to play defense. Let's see if we actually bring in that defensive assistant, you can bring in all the assistants you want but you need willing players. Is Amar'e going to be willing? Is Melo going to be willing? It all starts with them. Both of them are fully capable of playing defense, we need them to play hard most of the time, not select situations.

At this point in the draft there is no defender that will help us, not Selby, Brooks or Motie. If that's the logic your going with Faried should be the pick because of his rebounding and he brings us extra possessions.

I mean would I love Phil Jackson? Sure. Do I think Phil is coming here? Probably not. Some fans need to realize that Dolan is running this team and not Steinbrenner. Dolan isn't going to fire a 50 win coach coming off back to back playoffs. Try all you want to not believe it.

[ComboGuardCity]

Darius Morris.

[Day_Man]

Selby and Brooks are more exciting picks, but I went with the 7 footer Nikola Vucevic (my flavor of the week).

just the thought of having Turiaf/Jeffries, makes this pick alot easier

[ManiaX]

FYI, Field's shot 33.7% from 3 his senior year in college. Players can improve with training (especially from Tim Grover) and from what I here Brooks is hitting 18-22 out 25 NBA 3's in all of his workouts.

Who is guarding Brooks in these workouts though? Nobody.

I am sure Fields could knock down 18-22 out of 25 NBA 3's, if he was wide open with nobody guarding him too.

Rautins could go 25 for 25, doesn't mean he is ready for the NBA.