SupremeCommander wrote:I sure wish the Knicks had been smart and taken him. If the team had any patience or vision they would have seen a bluechipper waiting for them. nbadraft.net had his player comparison as: Kevin Durant/Joe Johnson. Porter definitely should have been the top pick

Porter's injuries were no small thing, and it took a long time for him to get well. Patience with a project is one thing. Patience with a project with serious health issues is another.

Very curious to see what Knox, Frank, DSJr, have been doing to work on their games during the time off. Wouldnt surprise me if we were to see better production, from some or all of them.
They have the time to reflect on the holes in their respective games. Know that they probably have to hit the ground running to stick with Thibs. Frank might have the edge becuase of his D. But Thibs might want to give DSJr a look, maybe try to give him the same role he gave to Rose in Chicago, albeit smaller. Dont believe DSJr could handle the minutes.

smackeddog wrote:I'm still not sure if MP's body will hold up medium or long term, but watching him he looks like he's grown into his body, where as Knox still looks like Bambi- he just seems so much younger and less coordinated. That's not a criticism of him, he probably needs a few years and a lot better player development coaching. One things clear, stop playing him at SF, he needs to focus on being a PF

I definitely agree. Knox is really young and looks even younger, compared to most NBA players coming into the league. He's still got a ton of upside as a multi-dimensional scoring 4 in the league. Either starter or 6th man, but it will take some years. I still see his upside as similar to Tobias Harris, who took a few years.

One other observation: Porter is in a nice situation. Team took a gamble but it's not like the team was counting on him to carry the franchise either (same with Levert). Contrast that to the Knicks where every first round pick is expected to be a savior and if they're not, they're soon demonized no matter what they bring to the table

Michael Porter Jr's Beast status has been revoked.

MS wrote:SGA was the pick with our glaring need at guard.

Porter looks incredible in a short sample, so it’s easy to kill the Knicks here, since Knox stinks. And if we had two picks like the Clippers I would be on board.

But, we got Robinson whose a lottery pick now. You also need to take into account the family history of knee injuries with the Porters. His two sisters sustained serious knee injuries, ACL/MCL. His brother also tore his ACL multiple times, it’s not a coincidence that four kids have suffered major injuries.

Hopefully the kid stays healthy. But have to be happy with Mitch. If he had a decent point guard, it’s not inconceivable that he would be averaging 16pts a game. Had they taken Chris Paul when he was free this summer maybe even Knox would look good.

Everyone looks a little better with a talent like Jokic next to him.

Good take. Jokic is top 5 mvp candidate. Lebron and Giannis are obvious front runners. Jokic and Luca have had huge impacts on their teams success.
Where is Bol Bol? Pine Pine. If and until Knox can elevate to expectations we'll always look at those taken after him with the benefit of hindsight.
My knick fanboy won't allow any player to be written off until they are banished/age out.
To me Frank has a big year coming up. His defense can keep him in the league but he has to round out his offense. Othewise he becomes a mudiay/jennings/Duhan journeyman unil at 28 becomes a revelation making us look bad. Knox Floor can be Robert Horry. Saw a brief thing on NBA TV. He was traded by the Rockets to Pistons for Sean Elliot for not shooting enough. He goes to Detroit but trade busted because Elliot does not pass his physical in Houstan. Horry instead of sulking evolves into "Big shot Rob" and the rest is history. This was I think his second season. He started for both Rocket chip teams and became "big shot Rob" with a long career as a role player until age 37.
My point is players until age 25 can still evolve. Can't write these kids off but.......I get the issue of contracts and trajectory. I also get more players fail then get to play 10 plus years. Read every draft from the past and its filled with more players not living up to draft status. And every year a handful exceed. At somepoint we have to hit a few good ones and build a base.

Funny, we forget Denver and POrtland traded Nuric for Jokic. Obviously Jokic evolved but Denver usage was the key. Portland with its back court would never have given that kind of freedom to him. The system and talent has to match. This shyt is not easy!