Posted by Marv:

or if you prefer:

No thanks.

Posted by 30andOverClub:

JohnWallace, just figured I'd throw my support your way. I've been watching a lot of college basketball this year and am pretty excited about the players coming out. I HOPE that the Knicks get at least two 1st round picks this year. Are there any stars? I haven't followed college basketball for years and years, so I'm not knowledgeable enough to know that.

However, it's not like we have stars on our team. If you can use Nate and Lee to offload Curry and Jeffries, and then replace them with like players at a fraction of the cost, why wouldn't you want to? Instead of paying Lee and Nate $15MM in 2010, you get Lawson and Aldrich, or Evans and Mullens, whoever, for $3-4MM. Fill out the rest of the roster with lower salary players who are potentially productive (Wilcox, Moon, I'm sure there are tons of these guys, look at San Antonio) and then you go sign a bunch of free agents in 2010.

I'm praying Walsh is thinking similar thoughts, though I'm not sure if that's where you're going with it exactly.

Yeah, I think we can fleece a bunch of teams of their pick for a little bit of dough that they're desperate for.

If we get four picks in the top 40, D'Antoni can coach 'em up, and we can either keep them, or use them to get us out of the Curry/Jeffries deals a year early.

I've watched full games of all of the college PG's over the last few days. Jennings and Rubio I've watched on extensive you-tube clips. I really like Warren and Evans, Rubio we won't get a chance at. Teague doesn't do anything spectacular for me and he falls asleep at the wheel sometimes. Gets Duhon like brain-lock. Maynor looks special.

Warren - looks like a young Baron Davis, incredibly physical PG - MikeD won't want a combo guard though
Evans - huge huge PG, would be an automatic mismatch for us every night - MikeD won't want a combo guard though
Teague - can do everything a PG needs to, but turns the ball over inexplicably a lot, not special looking
Maynor - just a crazy handle and nice on-ball defender, shoots team in and out of games
Mills - Australian version of Gerry McNamara - would you draft Gerry in the 1st round?
Rubio - who knows? Looks like a crazy passer in the olympics and you-tube, but tiny build
Jennings - Calhoun says he's the best in a generation, ultra quick in Euro highlights, but streaky
Calathes - still need to do my homework on him
Flynn - Clutch, takes control of games, not big or talented enough to be starter in NBA
Holiday - Extreme athlete for a PG, another Westbrook in the making from UCLA - Mike D won't want a combo guard
Ty - One of the fastest in college, not a great defender

I'm assuming that Mike and Donnie will want the most pure of Point Guards if they draft one high, so as much as I like Warren and Evans, I can't really see it.

That leaves Rubio, Jennings and Maynor.

Rubio will go #2 probably.

So I think it will come down to a choice between Mullens/Monroe if they're there and Jennings/Maynor if they're there.

Honestly, if Maynor's teammate Sanders comes out, we should pick him up late. 6'9" with a 7'7" wingspan and runs like a small forward. Would be a great replacement for Lee at the center spot and would fit our style. He would do what MikeD thought Jeffries could do. Kid's only played ball since his Jr year, so he's only going to get better.

That black dancer in the above pick got cakes!!! I need to get chips so I can get on something like that, asap.

draft Gerald Henderson

This is a bad draft.

Posted by McK1:

draft Gerald Henderson

I would rather eat glass..

Posted by JohnWallace44:

Posted by 30andOverClub:

Unfortunately, I haven't seen much of Lawson, but the write ups along with stats intrigue me. His assist-to-turnover ratio is over 3, he's super quick, and has a very strong body. He's short, but I don't think he's a throw away.

Calathes I have seen a number of times. I really feel he'd be an excellent backup. He doesn't seem comfortable (and isn't very successful from what I've watched) finishing at the basket, despite his height. Great passer (half court and fast break), great rebounder, willing defender. I'd love to get pick 29 or 30 and have him on a rookie scale for 4 years at about $1MM per, but I'd want someone more athletic starting. You gotta figure the Knicks will be looking hard at him though, what with the David Lee/Florida connection.

I'm feeling that Gallo will fill out, and if you get a 7 footer next to him, he can be a PF down the line. Which means the 3 and 4 are set. Which means we need a 1, 5, and a 2. Any thoughts on pure 2s? I saw Terrence Williams the other day and loved his athleticism, commitment to defense, and willingness to pass. I've read bad things about his handle and shot, but they looked at least as good as Chandler's to me. I'd love to have 2 good to great wing defenders plus that 7 foot shot blocker in the starting lineup.

I'm with you, though. I wish we could get Lawson/Maynor, Aldrich/Mullens, Terrence Williams, and Calathes all on rookie deals. Stars? Who knows, and who cares? We'll get one in 2010, right?

Lawson's a great passer. I think that he could be what Larry Brown wanted Nate to be, a more composed, superquick PG who can also create for himself.

Still, he doesn't have the size, so you'd want him coming off the bench, and he doesn't defend, so we don't need to go down that road as far as a starter again. I'd be happy to get him late.

Calathes is a strange player. He does seem to have a lot of difficulty around the rim. If you're judging him against other PG's Flynn and Teague aren't so good around the rim either. I could almost see drafting him as a shooting guard. A Toni Kukoc type. Wouldn't take him before the 20's and if we had a pick there I would take Tulsa's Jordan (C) first.

Williams is nice as a 2Guard. He's inconsistent. I don't see that as so much of a dire need. If you look at the great Phoenix teams, they didn't have classic scoring guards. Nash just set up guys like Q and Joe Johnson, which gives you an advantage on the defensive end because the matchups are in your favor. If we can eventually have LeBron(pipedream) as the 2 guard, or Chandler, or Joe Johnson, I think we'd be fine as long we have a PG who can imitate Nash.

We need a center about as bad as we need a PG. Interesting that scouts say that there aren't any big time centers even coming up from the deep pipeline, they say as far as Jr's in high-school. That means that there will be three drafts after this one without centers at a minimum. Shaq is fading, BigZ is on his last legs. As long as Dwight Howard can run with smaller guys, he's going to get more and more dominant. You've seen with Lee that you can get by in a surprising amount of games without a real center. (26 so far to be exact)

That said, it is painfully obvious that we need a shotblocker. Shouldn't have passed on McGee, Lopez and Jordan last year. I know Gallo is a crazy shooter. We just missed on that pick, its clear as day.

Briggs loves Mullens. I like the lower risk guys we can get deeper into the draft like Jordan and possibly Sanders. Hill and Thabeet shouldn't be available to us. Aldrich, Monroe and Patterson I don't see as real difference makers.

I do agree that we need a PG and C well above any other position. As respects having a shotblocker, I don't think it's necessarily that cut and dry. The two leading shotblocking teams in the league are Warriors and Clippers, yet they are two of the worst defensive teams. Likewise, the Spurs and Celtics are near the bottom in blocked shots, yet are two of the best defenses.

I want a presence in the middle, yes, but more important IMO is to continue to add players committed to TEAM defense. They have to be able and smart enough. I don't know if that's Aldrich, Mullens, or whomever as I haven't watched enough of them.

As respects PGs, I could see Calathes as a starting PG IF we also had an athletic, defending SG. We wouldn't be so hurt by switches since Calathes is 6'5" or 6'6". Then there's Chad Ford spouting that the Knicks want Stephen Curry. I haven't seen him enough and don't really like the idea, but I feel if he could commit to being a PG, he has many of the same physical and shooting attributes as Steve Nash, don't you think?

To me I would take BJ Muleens and I wouldnt even think about it. I understand that he is going to take some time to develop but I really like his athleticism and frame. In time he will be a very good offensive C in this league and can play and give some presence off the bench now. I think if you can get him at 8-9-10 I really believe it's a significant discount compared to where he might be drafted if he were to stay in school--become stronger and more of a focus. There are a bunch of gunslingers on that team--but the bottom line is Mullens lead the Big Ten in FG% averaging more than 10 points a game and playing just a tad over 20 minutes. It's a solid long term value pick--you cannot go wrong with the pick. Look how effortlessly he played in the MCD game--I think he went 8-9 playing with the best of talent for his age. Just looking at some of the things he can do athletically for his size--not many people have that. It might not be the fancy pick but it's the right pick for the team. I think with all of the money problems teams are having and our need to fill out some roster spots I think 1 or possibly 2 picks later in the round may be available to stock up on a nice guard or two. Lets get that post presence for the future and then work hard for the best G available--there will be good ones all the way down into the early to middle second round IMHO.

Posted by BRIGGS:

To me I would take BJ Muleens and I wouldnt even think about it. I understand that he is going to take some time to develop but I really like his athleticism and frame. In time he will be a very good offensive C in this league and can play and give some presence off the bench now. I think if you can get him at 8-9-10 I really believe it's a significant discount compared to where he might be drafted if he were to stay in school--become stronger and more of a focus. There are a bunch of gunslingers on that team--but the bottom line is Mullens lead the Big Ten in FG% averaging more than 10 points a game and playing just a tad over 20 minutes. It's a solid long term value pick--you cannot go wrong with the pick. Look how effortlessly he played in the MCD game--I think he went 8-9 playing with the best of talent for his age. Just looking at some of the things he can do athletically for his size--not many people have that. It might not be the fancy pick but it's the right pick for the team. I think with all of the money problems teams are having and our need to fill out some roster spots I think 1 or possibly 2 picks later in the round may be available to stock up on a nice guard or two. Lets get that post presence for the future and then work hard for the best G available--there will be good ones all the way down into the early to middle second round IMHO.

I like that mullens kid.. athletic, very fluid for his size, and has a frame that can easily take on another 25 pounds... Lets just cover all the bases... let say we make the playoffs, do you think this kid falls out of the lottery?