Something interesting about the article at Draft Express:

Atlanta making a move on Ukic?

Reports out of Houston suggest that a deal is on the table which would see the Rockets trading out of the 1st round. The player that Houston is supposedly targeting, Luther Head, might not be on the board at 24 according to what his agent Mark Bartelstein told us earlier today. It’s his belief that Head will end up being selected “in the teens,” which would mean that the Rockets would have to select from a crop of raw European small forwards and big men or reach for a college player who is a little bit lower down on their board. The Atlanta Hawks are interested in trading up from the #31 pick to #24 in order to secure the services of the Croatian PG Roko Leni-Ukic, should he end up slipping to that spot. The problem is that Ukic is receiving major interest from both the Toronto Raptors at #16 and the Phoenix Suns at #21. The Raptors have already filed for a visa for Ukic to live in Canada (this is necessary for non-EU or US citizens), which most likely means that he is at least on their board

What about moving up that # 24 and have a better chance at Taft or Blatche? Or maybe get the pick another way, keeping # 30...

I thought that Atlanta would be the team that trumped up and bought bynum after trading for 5 and 13, thats why I had him at 13. It doesnt really make sense to draft marvin williams for Atlanta, they have 5 F the same size. Now Atlanta really only has to sweat Por, but Por has 3 C and No SG. Why would Por take Bynum at 6 and not Green or Webster? They dont have a SG! After 6, its not likely that Tor takes Frye which drops him down to 9 who havent wored out bynuym and have some kind of deal with warrick. LA maybe but not 10-11-12 which leads a safe easy ride to 13. so they could walkout with Paul and Bynum--using common sense, so why shouldnt that happen?
I still don't and never did believe the Knicks would take Bynum at 8 even if Frye is toast, and then it looks like clear sailing to 13 because, simply ONLY 4 teams worked him out--LA POR MEM ATL--even though the papers reported it, I dont think he worked out for NY.
So, Im not sure I completely believe this, doesnt change the perception, but I may be wrong about his availabilty to the Knicks.

Posted by TheloniusMonk:

Posted by BRIGGS:

I thought that Atlanta would be the team that trumped up and bought bynum after trading for 5 and 13, thats why I had him at 13. It doesnt really make sense to draft marvin williams for Atlanta, they have 5 F the same size. Now Atlanta really only has to sweat Por, but Por has 3 C and No SG. Why would Por take Bynum at 6 and not Green or Webster? They dont have a SG! After 6, its not likely that Tor takes Frye which drops him down to 9 who havent wored out bynuym and have some kind of deal with warrick. LA maybe but not 10-11-12 which leads a safe easy ride to 13. so they could walkout with Paul and Bynum--using common sense, so why shouldnt that happen?
I still don't and never did believe the Knicks would take Bynum at 8 even if Frye is toast, and then it looks like clear sailing to 13 because, simply ONLY 4 teams worked him out--LA POR MEM ATL--even though the papers reported it, I dont think he worked out for NY.
So, Im not sure I completely believe this, doesnt change the perception, but I may be wrong about his availabilty to the Knicks.

Why do you believe that he didn't work out for the Knicks even though a few people said that he did?

I think like Channing Frye, Bynum has a promise and ultimately I think that promise came from Atlanta. I kind of have gone back and forth on this issue, but ultimately I put Bynum at 5 in the mock because a high caliber PG will be there at 13, but Bynum has the chance to be gone. i think Gerald green actually makes it down to 10 so you have a choice of felton, Jack and Ukic. I dont think Atlanta likes Felton[they seem to like guys with height who are more versatile, so either Jack or Ukic at 13

right now my top 10 mock is

1. Bog
2. Marv
3. Deron
4 Paul
5 Bynum
6 Webster
7 Granger
8 Frye yes Knick fans, you got your guy
9 Warrick
10 Green

trades atl 2 for 5+13
trades Utah 6+27 for 3
Its possible Tor trades magliore for 7, but they want Granger not Frye

Posted by rojasmas:

I think the Knicks are picking Joey Graham. I think Frye will be gone and Isiah will pass on Bynum. NY fans and his boss are too impatient to wait for Bynum to develop. Graham is a tough guy who is a good fit for a soft Knick team at present.

I am a big fan of both Graham and Granger, but considering the Q trade, Graham doesn't make sense.

Actually, let me correct myself. I just looked up Q's career stats and he did get 6 boards a game last year with the Suns too, to my surprise. More glaring, however, was the fact that he hasn't shot even 40% from the field in the last 3 years. Two shooting guards who can't shoot may be a problem.

Posted by BRIGGS:


I think like Channing Frye, Bynum has a promise and ultimately I think that promise came from Atlanta. I kind of have gone back and forth on this issue, but ultimately I put Bynum at 5 in the mock because a high caliber PG will be there at 13, but Bynum has the chance to be gone. i think Gerald green actually makes it down to 10 so you have a choice of felton, Jack and Ukic. I dont think Atlanta likes Felton[they seem to like guys with height who are more versatile, so either Jack or Ukic at 13

right now my top 10 mock is

1. Bog
2. Marv
3. Deron
4 Paul
5 Bynum
6 Webster
7 Granger
8 Frye yes Knick fans, you got your guy
9 Warrick
10 Green

trades atl 2 for 5+13
trades Utah 6+27 for 3
Its possible Tor trades magliore for 7, but they want Granger not Frye

Ok, so the guarantee, that was made a couple of weeks ago, when Atlanta had yet to decide what to do with their pick and maybe didn't even thought about trading it, was made by the Hawks. First it was the Lakers. Then Portland. Now this. I have to ask you: since you love Bynum so much, would you really want to see him in a Knicks uniform? It doesn't seem that way, not at all.

Point #2: 8 Frye yes Knick fans, you got your guy

Ok so by this I can either understand that you are being extremely sarcastic with the fans that you have convinced about how picking Bynum is the best answer, or you are no longer a Knicks fan...

If Bynum and Fryeguy go ahead of the Knicks then IT is going to stumble up to the podium laughing. We would get a great wing with that scenario. You could run out Granger or Graham or Green and blow the doors off teams. Get Chris Anderson to play center and run, run run all day baby just like the plan has been post Layden. Or trade down with those guys sitting there and grab Warrick.

I would love the Bynum pick but it is the worst scenario for next year's team, Frye being the best for next year. Long term I think either Bynum or one of the great wings would put us in good shape.

Posted by Knick2001:

Frye at #8 and Blatche at #30...I'd be very happy with that.