SupremeCommander wrote:I think SGA will be one of the steals of the draft. But I'm pretty happy with Knox and don't think any of the othes that you mentionw ill be anything special so whatever

Yep, I liked SGA, and he's looked good so far. Just seems to be a winning player

Cartman718 wrote:https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2800195-what-to-make-of-best-and-worst-nba-rookie-preseasons?src=rss#slide1

Stats through five preseason games: 8.8 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 32.7 percent FG, 15.8 percent 3PT

Initial reaction: Calm down, don't panic

After Kevin Knox shot 35.1 percent in summer league, the preseason inefficiency should have been expected.

He's also gone from the No. 1 option with a green light in Las Vegas to a supporting role player in games in which New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale is utilizing 15 men. It's tough for Knox to gain rhythm.

His three-ball isn't falling, and for the first time, he's finding out he can't just easily finish at the rim.

Knox is an obvious talent between his 6'9" size and athleticism and his skill set that includes three-level shot-making and face-up dribble moves. He led Kentucky in scoring as a freshman and averaged 21.3 points per game in his first summer league.

A rough preseason for the 19-year-old rookie shouldn't cause any reason to panic, just like it shouldn't have for Jayson Tatum when he shot 37.1 percent through his first four exhibition games in 2017.

Allonzo Trier, New York Knicks SG
4 OF 10

Noah K. Murray/Associated Press
Stats through five preseason games: 14.2 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 1.6 APG, 47.8 percent FG, 30.0 percent 3PT

Initial reaction: Steal

The hype machine had been pumping for Knicks draft picks Knox and Mitchell Robinson. Naturally, undrafted rookie Allonzo Trier has outplayed both.

He's actually outscored most of 2018's first-rounders.

It appears that the predraft questions and concerns on Trier were overblown. He was misevaluated after averaging 18.1 points per game on 62.0 percent shooting inside the arc, 38.0 percent from three and 86.5 percent at the line as a junior at Arizona.

There isn't any one reason why teams passed on him 60 times—it could have been the two failed drug tests for performance-enhancing substances or a style of play that wasn't easy to picture working in a supporting role.

It now seems obvious that Trier's ability to create his own shot and earn a bucket can carry over to the pro level. With enough size and athleticism, the 6'5" guard is shaking defenders, tough at the rim and able to knock down contested off-balance jumpers. He's confident and skilled.

Even if he peaks as a second-unit scoring specialist, the Knicks get a steal. And early signs point toward New York having added a third rookie to its core.

Nalod wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:Frank was 19, with pro experience, intl experience, looked rougher coming out of the gate than Knox has. Knox has shown he can drain the 3, has guard skills, can play multiple positions.

The game has been gradually speeding up for the rooks as we get to the start of the season. Thats the first thing most rooks say when they get to the league. How much faster the game is in the pros.

Some will adjust faster than others, as long as there is progress thats fine. I heard a lot more calls on this board to be patient with Frank, who had shown a lot less to this point. Some of it was due to injury.

If Knox had looked like a bust since putting on a Knicks uniform I would get the handwringing. But thats not the case.

Has the gate even opened for Knox yet?

Strictly speaking, no. The OP (for the sake of argument) is moving the gate back to SL through preseason. Making the case that its already clear that SGA is a better prospect, and Knox could have been had at 12, 13.

Seen enough from Knox in that span to say that its too early to tell who will be a better prospect. Sometimes thats all the time you need to tell which player will have a better career. Dont believe thats the case here.

BigDaddyG wrote:

Nalod wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:Frank was 19, with pro experience, intl experience, looked rougher coming out of the gate than Knox has. Knox has shown he can drain the 3, has guard skills, can play multiple positions.

The game has been gradually speeding up for the rooks as we get to the start of the season. Thats the first thing most rooks say when they get to the league. How much faster the game is in the pros.

Some will adjust faster than others, as long as there is progress thats fine. I heard a lot more calls on this board to be patient with Frank, who had shown a lot less to this point. Some of it was due to injury.

If Knox had looked like a bust since putting on a Knicks uniform I would get the handwringing. But thats not the case.

Has the gate even opened for Knox yet?

And Frank didn't even play Summer League or preseason his rookie year. Plus, if I remember, Frank had a solid start the first few games. I agree that Knox has a lot of potential, but it will take sometime. Maybe the last 20 games or so in the season for Knox to truly get acclimated to the pros.

Frank played a few minutes in SL, before he got hurt. Looked more or less the same way he did for most of the season. Knox had an immediate impact.

As Nalod pointed out, the season starts tomorrow. For Frank as well. Time for him to put all that hard work over the summer to good use.

BigDaddyG wrote:Frank never played summer league last year. He hurt himself while playing overseas and they wanted him to focus on his physical conditioning. I believe he did practice with the summer league team tho.

https://nypost.com/2017/07/05/knicks-top-pick-signs-but-fans-wont-get-to-see-him-play-yet/

ORLANDO, Fla. — Frank Ntilikina signed his four-year, $18.5 million rookie-scale contract with the Knicks, but won’t be able to show his lottery-pick form at the Orlando summer league.

Ntilikina, who suffered a bruised knee in the decisive Game 5 of the French league finals the day after the Knicks selected him in the draft, will miss the entire five-game summer-league slate. He missed his fourth straight game Wednesday and will sit out Thursday’s 8 a.m. finale against Miami. The Knicks decided to play it cautiously.

I stand corrected, guess I was thinking of the start of the season.

GustavBahler wrote:

Nalod wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:Frank was 19, with pro experience, intl experience, looked rougher coming out of the gate than Knox has. Knox has shown he can drain the 3, has guard skills, can play multiple positions.

The game has been gradually speeding up for the rooks as we get to the start of the season. Thats the first thing most rooks say when they get to the league. How much faster the game is in the pros.

Some will adjust faster than others, as long as there is progress thats fine. I heard a lot more calls on this board to be patient with Frank, who had shown a lot less to this point. Some of it was due to injury.

If Knox had looked like a bust since putting on a Knicks uniform I would get the handwringing. But thats not the case.

Has the gate even opened for Knox yet?

Strictly speaking, no. The OP (for the sake of argument) is moving the gate back to SL through preseason. Making the case that its already clear that SGA is a better prospect, and Knox could have been had at 12, 13.

Seen enough from Knox in that span to say that its too early to tell who will be a better prospect. Sometimes thats all the time you need to tell which player will have a better career. Dont believe thats the case here.

I never said that SGA is better than Knox; I'm not even sure I implied that. The truth is that I loved what I've seen from Knox and prefer him despite SGA impressing early. I just think it would have been worth the risk to take SGA at 9 in an attempt to get the 12th and 13th picks from the Clippers. Because as talented as Knox is, there was still solid talent left at those picks to justify the move even if Knox wasn't there.

Nalod wrote:Clippers are a better team for a rookie SG and he has played well into that.
Revisiting the past, Willy seems to be sitting having lost his spot and Malik Monk Shooting % is a bit low.
I’m just going by stats. Monk is still very young and should develop as well.
Dennis Smith? Comes a time when Dallas has to make a choice to resign him or move on.

That draft has been a disappointment in a lot of ways. Monk, Smith, Ball, Fultz, and Frank are all under-performing. Only guards who have excelled are Fox and Mitchell, who wasn't considered in the same class as the ones i mentioned before. Isaac has had a quiet start to his career, as has Collins. And Jackson is a bust so far. Only Tatum, Markkanen and Fox have excelled in a top 10 that was supposed to be can't-miss. Shows this draft thing is such a crapshoot.