Knicks

[bodiddley]

Don't forget Vassilis Spanoulis, who looked great for Greece and then had a frustrating year under JVG.  Stayed just one year in the NBA.  Just turning 26 this summer.

[thebizneverloses]

It's so easy to forget the "Greek T-Mac" as he famously called himself on the radio....

[theng]

I still think we did ourselves a disfavor by winning too many games.

Chicago sure didn't

And you think luck has nothing to do with it? Just ask yourself, knowing what draftees are available now, would you give up a few more wins to be in Wolves or supersonics positions?

[thebizneverloses]

This is an awfully interesting article from the good people over at DX:

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Eight-Rules-for-Draft-Night-Success-Let-History-Guide-2934/

Key messages: Draft picks don't provide an immediate impact in the won-loss column. Many, many big-men in the lottery are busts (#1 picks being exceptions). Draft position makes a huge difference in success. And for some odd reason, the #6 pick has had an anomalously high number of busts.

[KBY]

Well Fernandez

a) is best buds with Gasol
b) loves(/d) the NBA
c) took a major paycut including forking over a big deal of his own money for the buyout

As for grabbing a young prospect, if you can't sign him now, if you let him develop overseas he's more likely then before to stay there. That's a current trend. They actually become more valuable as a 2nd rounder.

I love Ajinca, Batum is tantalizing but he might drive you crazy, Ibaka the raw uber-athletic prospect and Asik the solid center from Turkey.

Depends on where you pick them and if they can sign now instead of down the road. If they drop to the bottom of the first round and develop in a best case scenario, then yes they'll be in a Tiago situation. Vasquez is quite different, more like Vujanic, very talented but not have his heart set on the NBA from the get go.

I'm actually very curious about Nathan Jawai, I don't know anything except the mock profiles from this Aussie but nbadraft compares him to Oakley which piques my interest.



As for giving up a few more wins to be in the Wolves or Sonics position, well frankly yes, if only that would have meant Zeke's dismissal.

[nagel100]

chip you taking the Monty hall baton with that last post.

 

Lib

Walsh makes the pick and I'll just hope for the best.

[nagel100]

ty

I see you logged in.

what do you think of this?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/ian_thomsen/06/19/mock.draft/index.html?eref=T1

very interesting.

[nagel100]

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/7966511/

[nagel100]

If Kansas State freshman forward Michael Beasley is taken by Chicago and Rose falls to the Miami Heat at No. 2, Rose's reaction will be decidedly different.

"I'll hate it.

[nagel100]

6. New York Knicks (Me for Brendan) - Russell Westbrook, PG/SG, UCLA
What am I crazy?!?!?! Maybe, but I don't think so. Westbrook's athleticism, about to go to the hole with control and finish with contact is very attractive to teams. His draft stock has been blowing up lately and it probably has to do with teams feeling comfortable giving Westbrook the rock as a full-time point guard as he is an unselfish player, a hard worker, and heady. Hmmm... sounds just like the opposite of any Knicks point guard right now, doesn't it? Anyway, it might seem like stretch here, but sometimes you need to take calculated chances, and with Rose off the board, the Knicks need a solid pass-first point guard to successfully run coach Mike D'Antoni's offense. Westbrook is it.

[KBY]

knicks draft central

[chipstern]

ty

I see you logged in.

what do you think of this?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/ian_thomsen/06/19/mock.draft/index.html?eref=T1

very interesting.

another wind bag...no sale...

[KBY]

Good news, Westbrook the most likely selection

Hahn's Blog

As for my pick in the poll, Anthony Randolph apparently has been performing lousy outside of the court, handing in questionable personality and psych evaluations.

That's not what you want to hear is it, might be a smokescreen but nevertheless, we've already got one Curry.

So as of now, if Mayo is off the boards, I'm torn between Bayless, Westbrook and Gordon.

[thebizneverloses]

Hey Nagel - can you post Chad Ford's latest article on draft tiers?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/insider/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=Tiers-080619

I've been developing my own tier as an indirect response to BoDiddley's month-old question about who I project as busts and steals.

[tysonnnyc]

ty

I see you logged in.

what do you think of this?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/ian_thomsen/06/19/mock.draft/index.html?eref=T1

very interesting.

I don't really see that. I actually believe the highest Westbrook will go is #6 and that also happens to be my preference, assuming we keep the pick. This changes if Mayo drops of course, but I doubt it.