Knicks haven't drafted future All-Star since 1987

http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/ny-spknix175580542feb17%2C0%2C4662374.story

Don't blame Isiah for this one

Though a lot of the Knicks' current woes are laid upon Isiah Thomas' shoulders, this is obviously a trend that started well before he arrived. Three players selected for tonight's All-Star Game - Portland's Brandon Roy, New Orleans' Chris Paul and Orlando's Dwight Howard - were drafted during Thomas' tenure, but the Knicks didn't have a first-round pick when Howard was drafted in '04 (that went to Phoenix in the Stephon Marbury trade) and Paul was taken fourth overall in '05, before the Knicks chose Channing Frye at No. 8. The Knicks would have had a shot at Roy, however, in '06 had Thomas not yielded two lottery picks to the Chicago Bulls as part of the widely criticized Eddy Curry trade.

Thomas has selected role-player types in the draft rather than making an attempt to bring in a high-end player or fill future needs, such as at point guard. In his only lottery choice, he took Frye over Andrew Bynum because, he admits, he didn't think Bynum - 17 at the time he was drafted and the youngest player ever to participate in an NBA game at 18 years, six days - could develop in front of demanding New Yorkers. (Bynum instead has developed in front of an even more demanding Kobe Bryant.)

But this isn't only about whom the Knicks didn't get as much as it's about what they haven't done with the players they did get.

Most scouts will say a team's method of developing a player is just as critical as the method of making the choice on draft day. Thomas is quick to point out how much David Lee has progressed since he was taken with the last pick of the first round in 2005. But for the Knicks to take credit for Lee's development would be to minimize the real key factor: Lee's personal determination to make himself a better player on his own amid a culture of chaos that has engulfed this team throughout his first three NBA seasons.

"I kind of had to figure out what I wanted to stand for as a player and as an individual, not just stuff on the court but off the court," said Lee, the MVP of the Rookie Challenge last year. "Me, I want to be known as a guy that outworks everybody, a guy that is very competitive and wants us to win every game. Really, I just focus on every action I do when I'm at practice, off the court, getting your rest. Everything plays into that. If you do that, stuff that may be going on around us, it doesn't matter. It's just about staying true to that image I want to have."

For some others, the individual drive needs constant attention. Thomas made reference to his controversial 2006 first-round pick, Renaldo Balkman, going "MIA" for a few games when the energetic forward was buried on the bench. Balkman's reply: "I don't know what he's talking about." Mardy Collins, also a first-round choice in 2006, has gone from a starter one day to a "Did Not Play-Coach's Decision" the next, with little to no explanation. Rookie Wilson Chandler only now is starting to see token playing time. Most Knicks fans probably don't know what number is on Randolph Morris' jersey because they rarely see him in it.

Need to develop development

The rookies and young players typically hang together. And they generally get to the arena at the same time and warm up together, before the veterans. But to anyone who has spent time watching how teams conduct their pregame rituals, it is apparent that the Knicks spend less time and emphasis on drilling and developing their young players.

Before one road game this season, a player development coach who had just worked his players through some intense pregame drills looked down at the Knicks' end of the court. Three veterans sat along the courtside seats and chatted while a few young players did some routine shooting. One Knicks assistant coach came out with a cup of coffee in hand.

"What's going on down there?" the opposing coach wondered.

This is not an indictment of the Knicks' current player development coach, Greg Brittenham, who has been in the organization for 17 seasons. Brittenham often is sweating by the time he's done with warm-ups, but he generally seems to work harder than some of the players he's warming up. He and the other assistants also are doing most of their work before the head coach, Thomas, arrives at the arena. The players know it.

Chandler, along with Lee, is generally among the first players on the court for pregame work. In this lost season in which he rarely plays, he was asked if he ever felt that settling for being on time would be good enough. "Obviously," he said, "it comes to mind."

Collins, who learned about having a good work ethic when he played for John Chaney at Temple, said lazy tendencies creep in, especially when you feel lost in the shuffle. "There's times you feel like that, but you've got to realize doing nothing is not going to benefit you at all," he said. "I'd rather get in there and work out rather than just sit around and not do nothing at all. I've got good people around me, good agents, family, they all try to tell me to stay ready. Even the days I don't feel like it, I still get in there."

Blame Isiah for this, though...

There was a time in this franchise when that motivation came straight from the head coach. Pat Riley used to order Charlie Ward and Monty Williams to go through three hours of work per day with then-assistant Jeff Van Gundy in 1994-95. Riley gave the rookies two days off a week. "It's been tough," Williams said back then during a season in which he rarely played on the veteran-laden team. "They expect perfection 110 percent each way."

Thomas' expectations vary so much that none is taken seriously anymore. In training camp he gave each player a copy of the Wally Pipp story, which was supposed to be a warning that there were young players on the roster whom he had no hesitation about promoting over any veteran. But only Lee and Nate Robinson, both in their third seasons, have seen consistent playing time.

"If we were playing better and had we started off better, they would have had the opportunity for more court time," Thomas said. "If your team's playing better, you can take more chances with the younger guys. But in the situation we're in now, you're trying to win as many games as you possibly can."

So much for Wally Pipp.

So just because the GMs before IT were bad draft wise, somehow IT gets a pass for not drafting all stars, too?

Aside from the fact that he messed up in so many other ways.

simrud - I don't think the article was giving Isiah a "pass" for much, if anything. The statement about the years since Mark Jackson in 1987 was simply stating a fact.

The most critical point the writer attempts to pursue is the erosion of the team culture which has led to not only questionable picks, but the daily protocol for game preparation, and cameo minutes, which has stunted the growth of the younger players.

For example, the best time to provide game opportunity is not just during garbage time, but during those select occasions when the individual performance can be measured against first line competition.

>>i really hope you're right about colangelo being involved.

crzy - I don't know any more than you know where any subtle Colangelo discussions are involved. If what Berman reported is true about his willingness to consider New York, and the tampering rules don't kick in, he would be an intriguing candidate.

I miss the Summer League roster:

1. G Nate
2. G Nichols (insert 2008 draft pick here)
3. F Balkman
4. F Chandler
5. C Randolph Morris
6. injured Mardy Collins
7. (David Lee of course)

that's seven willing and able bodies for 2008-09 right there

That's a very double faced article. On the one hand it says "don't blame Isiah" but then it immediately goes about entailing the lazy culture and inconsistent minutes. It's primary premise in defense of Isiah is that it's been a long time since a former GM selected an all-star too; but in the case of Grunfeld we were a perennial playoff team with accordingly low picks, and there is no defense for Layden, a horrible GM, but neither is a bad predecessor an excuse for Isiah who oversaw a perennial lottery team and traded lottery picks for veteran busts, and under-developed the youth.

4 wasted years right after the former 4 wasted years.

Leaving Isiah aside for the moment, the article rings true for me, and it's something I've been frustrated by for a long time.

It's something we always return to - it starts at the top. We have an owner who admittedly doesn't know basketball, but won't delegate to a competent president and gm. He should at least be able to look at the successful teams around the league and see what they are doing differently from the Knicks.

Instead he wants to blaze his own trail, experimenting with unproven GMs like Layden and Thomas. Then he creates constraints for them. "Bring in good-character guys" to Layden. "Get us back to the playoffs" to Thomas. No long term plan, no acknowledgment of basketball realities. Always going for the quick fix, the flashy move. Dolan doesn't have the talent or imagination to blaze a new trail; he needs to follow a known procedure for attaining success.

Hire a good, proven GM and delegate the authority to make decisions without interference.

Posted by BlueSeats:

That's a very double faced article. On the one hand it says "don't blame Isiah" but then it immediately goes about entailing the lazy culture and inconsistent minutes. It's primary premise in defense of Isiah is that it's been a long time since a former GM selected an all-star too; but in the case of Grunfeld we were a perennial playoff team with accordingly low picks, and there is no defense for Layden, a horrible GM, but neither is a bad predecessor an excuse for Isiah who oversaw a perennial lottery team and traded lottery picks for veteran busts, and under-developed the youth.

4 wasted years right after the former 4 wasted years.

exactly... that lack of youth development on this team starts from the top... Isiah is a clown, guys like lee and balkman and nate have developed by working hard on their own.. Isiah is so two faced, and so is this article..

^Why? How do you expect Time Warner to be so much better?

Posted by tkf:

Posted by GKFv2:

Posted by Allanfan20:

^Why? How do you expect Time Warner to be so much better?

I don't know if they'll be better but I have a pretty good feeling that you can't get any worse than this.

Time warner is not much better if better at all....

You don't stick with crap just because the next thing could also be crap. If TW sucks too, at least we know they're a conglomerate who has a history of selling franchises after a short period of time.