As for the draft order:

*The Clippers, at 7, already had Tim Thomas signed to a long term deal at the 3 spot and drafted Al Thornton, a promising rookie, with the 14th pick just the season before. Needless to say, they were not looking at Gallo with that pick.

*The Bucks at 8, were not looking to draft anyone but Joe Alexander. That guy actually fell in the draft but was still being considered a sleeper. The cherry on top is that he grew up in China and spoke fluent Mandarin. That was a huge plus for them because the season before they drafted Yi Jianlian with a top 5 pick, who wanted no part of Milwaukee. The prevailing thought back then was that Joe could help Yi feel more comfortable in that environment that was devoid of an Asian population.

*The Bobcats at 9, were taking DJ Augustin at all costs because Larry Brown was/is a short-sighted moron. He wanted to replace Raymond Felton above all else, which had him focused on drafting need instead of BPA. As a matter of fact, Jordan and Cho are on record as having wanted Lopez but passed to oblige Brown.

All that means that Gallo would've been available at 10. This is a fact, not an opinion. Par for the course with Walsh though, we reached on a prospect that could've easily been acquired later in the draft (see Toney Douglas, Iman Shumpert, Andy Rautins, Josh Harrellson, etc.).

dk7th wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:Gallo at 6, could've been had at 10. We were the only team that was dumb enough to take him that early. The reality is that everyone knew that Brook Lopez was a far superior player and was projected to go no later than 6th but as high as 3. The right move would've been to select Lopez at 6 and then trade down to the Nets for picks 10 and 21. Instead of just Gallo, a good player in his own right, we could've gotten both him AND one of Ryan Anderson, Nick Batum, Serge Ibaka, DeAndre Jordan, Omer Asik, Marc Gasol, etc.

dk7th wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:See the Jordan Hill draft, Danillo Gallinari draft, the Renaldo Balkman draft, Sweetney, Frye etc.

ha ha lumping in gallinari with these other players. any opportunity to crap on gallo, right? who should they have drafted 6th that year? who has been more effective and a better pro? gordon is garbage, lopez has been injured and soft, hibbert was a project with one decent season. whatcha got?

1 7 Eric Gordon SG United States Los Angeles Clippers Indiana (Fr.)
1 8 Joe Alexander SF United States Milwaukee Bucks West Virginia (Jr.)
1 9 D. J. Augustin PG United States Charlotte Bobcats Texas (So.)
1 10 Brook Lopez+ C United States New Jersey Nets Stanford (So.)
1 11 Jerryd Bayless PG United States Indiana Pacers (traded to Portland)[b] Arizona (Fr.)
1 12 Jason Thompson PF United States Sacramento Kings Rider (Sr.)
1 13 Brandon Rush SG United States Portland Trail Blazers (traded to Indiana)[b] Kansas (Jr.)
1 14 Anthony RandolphPF United Statesb[›]Golden State Warriors LSU (Fr.)
1 15 Robin Lopez C United States Phoenix Suns (from Atlanta)[n] Stanford (So.)
1 16 Marreese SpeightsPF United States Philadelphia 76ers Florida (So.)
1 17 Roy Hibbert+ C United StatesJamaicac[›]Toronto Raptors (traded to Indiana)[c] Georgetown (Sr.)
1 18 JaVale McGee C United States Washington Wizards Nevada (So.)
1 19 J. J. Hickson PF United States Cleveland Cavaliers NC State (Fr.)
1 20 Alexis Ajinça C France Charlotte Bobcats (from Denver)[o] Hyères-Toulon (France) 1988

"could've been had at 10" is pure speculation. the knicks had hired d'antoni, and d'antoni teams have zero need for a plodding, passing-averse, soft big man. the knicks had no need for lopez based on their plan to run a SSOL offense. now, if you want to insist that the only way to draft is always based on "the best player available" you may have a point-- one that i happen to disagree with-- but then i would also argue, and back up with statistics and my own eye test, that they are very close in talent.

NardDogNation wrote:You routinely call Lopez soft but what exactly is Gallo? The guy has missed more than half his games as a Nugget despite being a perimeter player.

As for the draft order:

*The Clippers, at 7, already had Tim Thomas signed to a long term deal at the 3 spot and drafted Al Thornton, a promising rookie, with the 14th pick just the season before. Needless to say, they were not looking at Gallo with that pick.

*The Bucks at 8, were not looking to draft anyone but Joe Alexander. That guy actually fell in the draft but was still being considered a sleeper. The cherry on top is that he grew up in China and spoke fluent Mandarin. That was a huge plus for them because the season before they drafted Yi Jianlian with a top 5 pick, who wanted no part of Milwaukee. The prevailing thought back then was that Joe could help Yi feel more comfortable in that environment that was devoid of an Asian population.

*The Bobcats at 9, were taking DJ Augustin at all costs because Larry Brown was/is a short-sighted moron. He wanted to replace Raymond Felton above all else, which had him focused on drafting need instead of BPA. As a matter of fact, Jordan and Cho are on record as having wanted Lopez but passed to oblige Brown.

All that means that Gallo would've been available at 10. This is a fact, not an opinion. Par for the course with Walsh though, we reached on a prospect that could've easily been acquired later in the draft (see Toney Douglas, Iman Shumpert, Andy Rautins, Josh Harrellson, etc.).

dk7th wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:Gallo at 6, could've been had at 10. We were the only team that was dumb enough to take him that early. The reality is that everyone knew that Brook Lopez was a far superior player and was projected to go no later than 6th but as high as 3. The right move would've been to select Lopez at 6 and then trade down to the Nets for picks 10 and 21. Instead of just Gallo, a good player in his own right, we could've gotten both him AND one of Ryan Anderson, Nick Batum, Serge Ibaka, DeAndre Jordan, Omer Asik, Marc Gasol, etc.

dk7th wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:See the Jordan Hill draft, Danillo Gallinari draft, the Renaldo Balkman draft, Sweetney, Frye etc.

ha ha lumping in gallinari with these other players. any opportunity to crap on gallo, right? who should they have drafted 6th that year? who has been more effective and a better pro? gordon is garbage, lopez has been injured and soft, hibbert was a project with one decent season. whatcha got?

1 7 Eric Gordon SG United States Los Angeles Clippers Indiana (Fr.)
1 8 Joe Alexander SF United States Milwaukee Bucks West Virginia (Jr.)
1 9 D. J. Augustin PG United States Charlotte Bobcats Texas (So.)
1 10 Brook Lopez+ C United States New Jersey Nets Stanford (So.)
1 11 Jerryd Bayless PG United States Indiana Pacers (traded to Portland)[b] Arizona (Fr.)
1 12 Jason Thompson PF United States Sacramento Kings Rider (Sr.)
1 13 Brandon Rush SG United States Portland Trail Blazers (traded to Indiana)[b] Kansas (Jr.)
1 14 Anthony RandolphPF United Statesb[›]Golden State Warriors LSU (Fr.)
1 15 Robin Lopez C United States Phoenix Suns (from Atlanta)[n] Stanford (So.)
1 16 Marreese SpeightsPF United States Philadelphia 76ers Florida (So.)
1 17 Roy Hibbert+ C United StatesJamaicac[›]Toronto Raptors (traded to Indiana)[c] Georgetown (Sr.)
1 18 JaVale McGee C United States Washington Wizards Nevada (So.)
1 19 J. J. Hickson PF United States Cleveland Cavaliers NC State (Fr.)
1 20 Alexis Ajinça C France Charlotte Bobcats (from Denver)[o] Hyères-Toulon (France) 1988

"could've been had at 10" is pure speculation. the knicks had hired d'antoni, and d'antoni teams have zero need for a plodding, passing-averse, soft big man. the knicks had no need for lopez based on their plan to run a SSOL offense. now, if you want to insist that the only way to draft is always based on "the best player available" you may have a point-- one that i happen to disagree with-- but then i would also argue, and back up with statistics and my own eye test, that they are very close in talent.

you still haven't addressed the question: what need would the knicks have had for lopez? this was d'antoni in his first year.

also, there's soft and there's injury prone. gallo is not soft but he is injury prone. lopez is both soft AND injury prone.

dk7th wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:See the Jordan Hill draft, Danillo Gallinari draft, the Renaldo Balkman draft, Sweetney, Frye etc.

ha ha lumping in gallinari with these other players. any opportunity to crap on gallo, right? who should they have drafted 6th that year? who has been more effective and a better pro? gordon is garbage, lopez has been injured and soft, hibbert was a project with one decent season. whatcha got?

1 7 Eric Gordon SG United States Los Angeles Clippers Indiana (Fr.)
1 8 Joe Alexander SF United States Milwaukee Bucks West Virginia (Jr.)
1 9 D. J. Augustin PG United States Charlotte Bobcats Texas (So.)
1 10 Brook Lopez+ C United States New Jersey Nets Stanford (So.)
1 11 Jerryd Bayless PG United States Indiana Pacers (traded to Portland)[b] Arizona (Fr.)
1 12 Jason Thompson PF United States Sacramento Kings Rider (Sr.)
1 13 Brandon Rush SG United States Portland Trail Blazers (traded to Indiana)[b] Kansas (Jr.)
1 14 Anthony RandolphPF United Statesb[›]Golden State Warriors LSU (Fr.)
1 15 Robin Lopez C United States Phoenix Suns (from Atlanta)[n] Stanford (So.)
1 16 Marreese SpeightsPF United States Philadelphia 76ers Florida (So.)
1 17 Roy Hibbert+ C United StatesJamaicac[›]Toronto Raptors (traded to Indiana)[c] Georgetown (Sr.)
1 18 JaVale McGee C United States Washington Wizards Nevada (So.)
1 19 J. J. Hickson PF United States Cleveland Cavaliers NC State (Fr.)
1 20 Alexis Ajinça C France Charlotte Bobcats (from Denver)[o] Hyères-Toulon (France) 1988

Although he didn't really pan out because of injuries, Gordon was really the player that should have been selected. He was a the BPA coming off a dominant freshman year and was one of the most ready players in the draft. Gallinari was picked partially because of his ties to MDA. In the end, Gordon did not become a star because of injuries, but that really can't be predicted. The Gallinari pick was easy to justify because of his skillset and relationship to the coach would add chemistry, but if you look at it objectively, Gordon was the guy.

Knixkik wrote:

dk7th wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:See the Jordan Hill draft, Danillo Gallinari draft, the Renaldo Balkman draft, Sweetney, Frye etc.

ha ha lumping in gallinari with these other players. any opportunity to crap on gallo, right? who should they have drafted 6th that year? who has been more effective and a better pro? gordon is garbage, lopez has been injured and soft, hibbert was a project with one decent season. whatcha got?

1 7 Eric Gordon SG United States Los Angeles Clippers Indiana (Fr.)
1 8 Joe Alexander SF United States Milwaukee Bucks West Virginia (Jr.)
1 9 D. J. Augustin PG United States Charlotte Bobcats Texas (So.)
1 10 Brook Lopez+ C United States New Jersey Nets Stanford (So.)
1 11 Jerryd Bayless PG United States Indiana Pacers (traded to Portland)[b] Arizona (Fr.)
1 12 Jason Thompson PF United States Sacramento Kings Rider (Sr.)
1 13 Brandon Rush SG United States Portland Trail Blazers (traded to Indiana)[b] Kansas (Jr.)
1 14 Anthony RandolphPF United Statesb[›]Golden State Warriors LSU (Fr.)
1 15 Robin Lopez C United States Phoenix Suns (from Atlanta)[n] Stanford (So.)
1 16 Marreese SpeightsPF United States Philadelphia 76ers Florida (So.)
1 17 Roy Hibbert+ C United StatesJamaicac[›]Toronto Raptors (traded to Indiana)[c] Georgetown (Sr.)
1 18 JaVale McGee C United States Washington Wizards Nevada (So.)
1 19 J. J. Hickson PF United States Cleveland Cavaliers NC State (Fr.)
1 20 Alexis Ajinça C France Charlotte Bobcats (from Denver)[o] Hyères-Toulon (France) 1988

Although he didn't really pan out because of injuries, Gordon was really the player that should have been selected. He was a the BPA coming off a dominant freshman year and was one of the most ready players in the draft. Gallinari was picked partially because of his ties to MDA. In the end, Gordon did not become a star because of injuries, but that really can't be predicted. The Gallinari pick was easy to justify because of his skillset and relationship to the coach would add chemistry, but if you look at it objectively, Gordon was the guy.

1.Towns- Almost everyone agrees he's the # 1 pick. Best big man on the board. He can score, defend and pass.

2.Russell-Here's where disagreements comence. I think this is the best player on the board.

3.Okafor-He will be a big time scoring machine. Thats about it.

4.Mudiay-Don't know much about him what i've seen he's a good passer.

5.Winslow- I think this guy is going to be better than Wiggins. He might go higher.

If the Lakers get the 5 pick or lower it belongs to the Sixers. They can get Okafor and Russell or Mudiay and Winslow

or any combination they want plus Embid, Noel, the Euros, Covington, Grant, Wroten more draft picks in a very deep

draft. Thier gonna be very busy on draft night.

dk7th wrote:

Knixkik wrote:

dk7th wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:See the Jordan Hill draft, Danillo Gallinari draft, the Renaldo Balkman draft, Sweetney, Frye etc.

ha ha lumping in gallinari with these other players. any opportunity to crap on gallo, right? who should they have drafted 6th that year? who has been more effective and a better pro? gordon is garbage, lopez has been injured and soft, hibbert was a project with one decent season. whatcha got?

1 7 Eric Gordon SG United States Los Angeles Clippers Indiana (Fr.)
1 8 Joe Alexander SF United States Milwaukee Bucks West Virginia (Jr.)
1 9 D. J. Augustin PG United States Charlotte Bobcats Texas (So.)
1 10 Brook Lopez+ C United States New Jersey Nets Stanford (So.)
1 11 Jerryd Bayless PG United States Indiana Pacers (traded to Portland)[b] Arizona (Fr.)
1 12 Jason Thompson PF United States Sacramento Kings Rider (Sr.)
1 13 Brandon Rush SG United States Portland Trail Blazers (traded to Indiana)[b] Kansas (Jr.)
1 14 Anthony RandolphPF United Statesb[›]Golden State Warriors LSU (Fr.)
1 15 Robin Lopez C United States Phoenix Suns (from Atlanta)[n] Stanford (So.)
1 16 Marreese SpeightsPF United States Philadelphia 76ers Florida (So.)
1 17 Roy Hibbert+ C United StatesJamaicac[›]Toronto Raptors (traded to Indiana)[c] Georgetown (Sr.)
1 18 JaVale McGee C United States Washington Wizards Nevada (So.)
1 19 J. J. Hickson PF United States Cleveland Cavaliers NC State (Fr.)
1 20 Alexis Ajinça C France Charlotte Bobcats (from Denver)[o] Hyères-Toulon (France) 1988

Although he didn't really pan out because of injuries, Gordon was really the player that should have been selected. He was a the BPA coming off a dominant freshman year and was one of the most ready players in the draft. Gallinari was picked partially because of his ties to MDA. In the end, Gordon did not become a star because of injuries, but that really can't be predicted. The Gallinari pick was easy to justify because of his skillset and relationship to the coach would add chemistry, but if you look at it objectively, Gordon was the guy.

i don't know-- what does being dominant as a freshman have to do with making the transition to the nba game? he is just another tweener in my view. can't orchestrate to save his life (if he is labeled a point guard), and too small and not a good enough shooter to be a shooting guard-- in fact a terrible defender. really sixth or seventh man material on a championship team.

at least with gallinari you had someone with several years of professional ball with adult men, someone who gets the team game, and has length and a desire to defend.

Defensively he is a liability; he gambles too much, plays with his hands down and is undisciplined Marginal foot speed and a weak body will leave his opponents salivating in excitement to abuse the mismatch

holfresh wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:We took Larry Hughes because (with the eighth pick) because we thought we had a need," he said. "But the reason we took Larry is I promised him when we interviewed him -- we knew we were getting the eighth pick -- I promised him if he was there at (No.) 8 we would take him."

Pierce, of course, went to Boston with the 10th pick and became a 10-time NBA All-Star. Imagine if he had spent his early years with Allen Iverson, on a 76ers squad that had all types of defense, with Larry Brown as the coach, irritating his stars while coaxing so much out of them.

Despite what could have been, Brown said he feels "good that we honored our commitment," and believes Hughes would have "worked out great" for the 76ers if he had been more patient with playing time early in his career. Still, Philadelphia passed on a future Hall of Famer -- who, in the year 2015, is still inspiring a playoff team and infuriating opposing fan bases -- for a long-armed journeyman who shot just a tick greater than 40 percent for his career. To further rankle 76ers fans, Dallas drafted Dirk Nowitzki immediately after Hughes.

Ultimately, the ill-advised promise changed Brown's draft strategy.

"I always think you should take the very best player," he said. "Whatever we wrote on the board, we used to write by position during the draft the best players, then we would write needs, and then we would write the best players period. And I always used to tell our staff, we've gotta go for the best player period and not even think about our needs, unless they were very, very close."

Wisely, the coach added, "I would never do that again."

LB had Isiah trade Reezy for Steve Francis..Can some one inquire about that?

Man that broke my heart. Can't believe way back when I raised my arms up and cursed at the sky and wondered how much more foolishness I could take as a Knicks fan.

And here we are how many years later and it still has yet to get better.

Please please P L E A S E let this draft pick turn into a mega star so good even this star crossed franchise can't F it up.