It wasn't just Porter likely missing a year. There was talk that his career might be in danger and his spinal fusion surgery was a big red flag. No one doubted the guy was a Top 3 talent, just would he hold up to the NBA grind with fragile vertebrae.
I liked solid 2-way Mikal Bridges.
I thought we needed a sure thing.
It is an open question, if we were willing to gamble on young raw Knox, why not gamble on Porter. Though health/injury is a different gamble.
Hell, Knox can still come through and Porter can still have a recurrence, or could never have gotten right.
One that we really missed was Shai, who was a late riser and went 2 slots after Knox, between the Bridges. Shai dropped 19 & 6 boards & 3 assists last year. Been a league average 3-shooter both years. And just a crafty player.
I can understand with 4 interesting SF prospects on board that we overlooked Shai, but he would have been a prized pick. Then again having steady smart 3&D Mikal Bridges would have been real nice.
Let's hope Knox plays harder and smarter. I wasn't more aggression out of the lad. Use that body to move folks out of your way. And focus in on D.
We did get Mitch in that same draft.
So just pretend we drafted Mitch #9 and Knox #36.
Pretty solid draft that way ...
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