Posted by MaTT4281:

Nilo was an Isiah pick? Whatever happened to his fascination with combo guards? Seems like he would have been in love with Gordon or Bayless.

Or maybe he finally got rid of his hard on for pure athleticism. Year after year, we saw Isiah draft one forward after the next only because they were athletic.

Posted by Uptown:

Still dont see where D'Antoni said "He did not want to draft him." Who the hell is this source? Maybe Gallo, along with a few other prospects where on the same plain in D'Antoni's mind and his Scouts reports pushed Gallo out in front a little.

So Isiah gets all the credit and not Kevin Wilson? D'Antoni said scouts, not scout, I.E Isiah Thomas. For someone who has been involved in basketball longer than some of us have been alive, let alone BB fans, Walsh is sure getting shortchanged by some here. To believe a man of Walsh's integrity will be anybody's puppet is a joke.

[Edited by - uptown on 07-27-2008 3:40 PM]

[Edited by - uptown on 07-27-2008 3:41 PM]

Posted by CrushAlot:

The argument was in response to Isiah wanting Bayless and other guards.

Posted by Uptown:

Posted by CrushAlot:

The argument was in response to Isiah wanting Bayless and other guards.

If you look at Isiahs draft history, nothing indicates that he would have drafted Gallo. Isiah has never drafted a Euro player. Not to say that he wouldn't have drafted one at some point, but there is no proof. As far as him picking small forwards, I doubt Isiah would have taken another SF for the third consecutive year and if he did, Anthony Randolph fits the bill more than Gallo does.

You act as if Isiah went to Europe on his own and found Gallo and told Walsh to draft him. Isiah (along with Kevin Wilson and other scouts) was sent to get another look at a prospect who was already identified by the scouting department.

[Edited by - uptown on 07-27-2008 5:44 PM]

Posted by oohah:

Posted by Pharzeone:

Posted by Uptown:

Posted by CrushAlot:

The argument was in response to Isiah wanting Bayless and other guards.

If you look at Isiahs draft history, nothing indicates that he would have drafted Gallo. Isiah has never drafted a Euro player. Not to say that he wouldn't have drafted one at some point, but there is no proof. As far as him picking small forwards, I doubt Isiah would have taken another SF for the third consecutive year and if he did, Anthony Randolph fits the bill more than Gallo does.

You act as if Isiah went to Europe on his own and found Gallo and told Walsh to draft him. Isiah (along with Kevin Wilson and other scouts) was sent to get another look at a prospect who was already identified by the scouting department.

[Edited by - uptown on 07-27-2008 5:44 PM]

Yeah, that doesn't make sense. Let me see, Walsh thought so much of Kevin Wilson original scouting reports that for no reason at all he sends him back but what for the heck of it, tells Isiah to take an trip to Italy not to scout of course but to just hang out because he was so confident in Wilson, a guy who has no relationship instead of the guy who he hired to run his former team without prior head coaching experience, a guy who he described as "having a great basketball mind and an eye for talent", the man he calls a friend, the guy he gave a recommendation to Dolan when he was in hired back in December 2003. Yet just for the fun of it and to mess with the media he tells everyone that Isiah liked him, Isiah says he can shoot and wants the ball in hand when the game is on the line (sounds like a scouting report he seems to be relying on). Yeah your way makes more sense.

Pharezone, if Walsh ultimately made the decision, what does it matter that Thomas may have reported back that he liked him? Anyway, Thomas is a decent talent evaluator, but not a good decision maker.

oohah

I don't disagree with you on that. I just find it funny that people want to annoint Walsh as the anit-Isiah. The man has a close relationship with the man and trust his judgement. I also believe he is grooming Thomas as well.

Posted by Paladin55:

Before the draft, Fran Fraschilla, who is no fool and no Knick employee, also seemed to know a lot about Gallinari's game and also liked him a lot. Fraschilla's comments were readily viewable online. Don't see Isiah's fingerprints on Fraschilla, do we?

On the other hand, perhaps we have an Italian conspiracy. D'Antoni, Fraschilla, Gallinari- is it just a coincidence that their names all end in vowels? I also hear that Walsh loves pasta! Maybe we should be talking about this angle- makes about the same sense as some of the Isiah theories thrown out here.

As for the Thomas conspiracy- Don't think that D'Antoni was not a factor and was not his own man in giving his OK on this pick. I am sure that he gave his blessings to a number of players the Knicks might have taken in this draft. They might have chosen Mayo, Westbrook, or even Love, over Gallinari, but you know that D'Antoni had given his OK on Gallinari being picked at 6. Don't believe that the Knicks' scouts "convinced" him that Gallinari was worthy. When you saw D'Antoni interviewed about Gallinari he frequently had a little smile when commenting on him, and I always got the idea that he was amused at all the questions, and never took the ultra-inquisitive NY press seriously (my opinion, of course). I am sure, though, that D'Antoni heard from a number of friends familiar with Euro BB who had seen Gallinari.

People who didn't want Gallinari were just waiting for the SL to find something they could use in a post. I suppose if Galinari had averaged 40 PPG, and Randolph 46, one of the Gallophobes would have used that 6 point difference as a topic for discussion for supporting their position that Randolph was better than the Italian. We have already had the Should'a taken Bayless, Brooks Lopez, and Randolph threads. Thank goodness that Alexander and Gordon did not distinguish themselves in the SL, or we would have been bombarded by Should'a taken Alexander/Gordon threads. May I suggest Augustine and Hickson as the next draftees you can use to bash Gallinari- both had good SL stats. Why not put up Should'a taken Augustine/Hickson threads?

Throwing out a Sidney Moncrief stamp of approval for Randolph means nothing considering who employs him now. I would be more impressed if someone associated with a team who picked before GS made the same comment. The same can also be said of Knick officials who praise Gallinari before they have a chance to see him play significant time in the real NBA.

You folks who are Gallophobes have put out your opinion more than enough times. Hope we don't have to see a thread about one of the Golden State towel boys who was impressed by Randolph's game during the SL..