I think it highlights the problem with draft rankings and the consensus that builds up in front offices, the media and with fans. How many times do teams select a player or not select one because it goes against the grain? The knicks had him in for workouts, even saw he was better than what he showed at louisville but did not have the conviction to "overdraft" him.

Quickley is an example where they did and it has paid off so far.

This year, with plenty of ammo and with a FO that knows how to make deals, I 'd like to see the knicks target players and go after them. The only reason not to try is if you think ( like in the nfl draft) that there are several equally valuable players in your range so that you don't have to make a move.

https://nypost.com/2019/11/21/rick-pitino-tried-to-convince-the-knicks-to-draft-donovan-mitchell/

franco12 wrote:I wanted Mitchell because of his connections to NY Sports - figured he could handle the pressure - also wanted the Bridges who were talked about at our spot.

This is the difference between smart organizations (like Dallas that wanted and knew Doncic would be game changer and had assets and smarts to make a move) and franchises like the Knicks that routinely traded away picks that turned into stars (Aldridge & Noah!).

Porter is probably the pick we should have made - we were so bereft of franchise changing talent, he was that, but the risk was there.

First pick – Houston Rockerts - Yao Ming

Second pick – Chicago Bulls – Jay Williams

Third pick – Golden State Warriors – Mike Dunleavy Jr.

Fourth pick – Memphis Grizzlies – Drew Gooden

Fifth pick – Denver Nuggets – Nikoloz Tskitishvili

Sixth Pick – Cleveland Cavaliers – Dajuan Wagner

Seventh Pick – New York Knicks – Nenê

Eighth Pick – Los Angeles Clippers – Chris Wilcox

Amare went ninth.

Denver twice could have drafted him. I’m not saying he goes ahead of Yao Ming based on the moment, but clearly he goes #2 in hindsight, Three tops. JWill was damn good and might have panned out if not injured.
Knicks could have kept camby and drafted Amare. How things could have been different. Amare was rookie of the year. His background was hard. His mom was in jail. Dude was solid for years. Until he came here.
Old news.
NBA is full of stories like this and every team has them. Then Mitch and IQ happens. More picks, more opportunities and yes, more failures! part of a process. Mining for gold.

smackeddog wrote:MP Jr 'tweaked' his back in the last game and was limited in the 4th- the back injury risk is real

TLover wrote:Hurts that we passed on these 2 upcoming stars for Ntlinkina & Knox.
The past can linger but finally have faith that we have some competence in the front office; and that future mistakes will be far less.

Tough to find star players at current picks 19 & 21 but then again the current NBA MVP was pick #41.

Having the best coach in the league helps.

If we drafted those players the front office and coaching changes never happen of course. So not sure what is a better option. Probably the mistakes creating this opportunity. Now we have Barrett, Robinson, Quickley, and Toppin as major building blocks over the last 3 drafts, not a bad group. In fact probably better than most. I think the Mikal Bridges miss hurts too, because he was a more obvious pick over Knox at the time. A lot of us really liked him. What he is doing now as a high level 3&D starter was very predictable. And drafting him probably doesn't change the struggles of the franchise leading to the coaching and front office changes. He's more of a piece, not a game-changer. But water under the bridge for all of this. We are in a good spot now.

fishmike wrote:

smackeddog wrote:MP Jr 'tweaked' his back in the last game and was limited in the 4th- the back injury risk is real

reminds me of Danny Granger who had top 5 talent but fell to 17 because of a knee injury and the threat of that timebomb. He was great for a spell and then his knees gave out. Exactly the kind of gamble you make when you have the 2 FRPs back to back

Yep, the risk with MP Jr isn’t now, while hes on a rookie contract, it’s when its time to pay up- can you risk a big contract if his back might breakdown?

TLover wrote:Hurts that we passed on these 2 upcoming stars for Ntlinkina & Knox.
The past can linger but finally have faith that we have some competence in the front office; and that future mistakes will be far less.

Tough to find star players at current picks 19 & 21 but then again the current NBA MVP was pick #41.

Having the best coach in the league helps.

Man I was thinking almost the exact same thing about drafting Nitklina then getting Dennis Smith. I recall Daily News article quoting Rick Pitino about how the Knicks should draft Dennis Mitchell.