god shammgod wrote:The Knicks could’ve wound up with Donovan Mitchell, one of the best young guards in the NBA, if they were willing to listen to Rick Pitino.
According to Rick Pitino.
“I tried to get the Knicks to take him, and nah [they said] they can’t take him at that number,” Pitino, Mitchell’s coach at Louisville, said on SiriusXM NBA Radio.
That number was the eighth overall pick in the 2017 draft, during which the Knicks took Frank Ntilikina in the last move made by then-president Phil Jackson before he was let go. Five picks later, the Jazz selected Mitchell, the Elmsford, N.Y. native who has blossomed into a star, being named to the NBA’s All-Rookie first team and the winner of the 2018 Slam Dunk Contest. This year, Mitchell has gotten even better, averaging 24.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
“Donovan I knew would be a star in the league,” Pitino said. “I always felt he could play the one. Can he run a pick-and-roll? Without question. Can he get other people shots? Without question. So, I always knew he could play two positions. He’s just a unique personality.”
https://nypost.com/2019/11/21/rick-pitino-tried-to-convince-the-knicks-to-draft-donovan-mitchell/
i don't post this to make the knicks look bad, this is the reality of the draft. nobody ever really picks someone who is mocked much later. it's very rare. because if you f*ck up it looks a lot worse. like i said in another thread, if the jazz had 8 they don't take donovan.
that is correct. Sometimes you get lucky in the draft just where you pick. Sometimes where you are picking forces you to take a certain player just because they are ranked higher.
If you go against the grain so much and it doesn't work out you probably will be fired...if you say hey everyone predicted this player to go here so I picked him you at least have that if it doesn't work out.
I would love my front office to have conviction but its not just the knicks its almost every organization.
The spurs traded up to get Kawhi Leonard at 15 with George Hill. If the Spurs picked 6th in that draft do you think they would pick Kawhi Leonard over Jan Vesley or if they went up to #2 they would pick him over Derrick Williams....sometimes you get lucky if you fall in the lottery if the right player is there.