BRIGGS wrote:NardDogNation wrote:WaltLongmire wrote:NardDogNation wrote:GustavBahler wrote:IDK, Im starting to like Kaminsky over both of them.
I definitely like Kaminsky over Towns. Can't say the same yet for Okafor. But when it comes to fits, I think that Kaminsky is the better option. My dream would be to get the no.1 pick, then trade down to get both D'Angelo Russell and Frank Kaminsky.
Don't think Kaminsky could ever have the post game OK4 will have, just as OK4 will never have Kaminsky's range on the jump shot.
A guy like OK4, or Towns, if he develops, would really open up the floor on the offensive end, as teams would eventually have to collapse on him defensively. We rarely have the kind of spacing when the ball is dumped into the post, because teams don't react as much to our players in the post, at least from what I've seen.
Kaminsky does not help our interior D and shot blocking, though.
Neither will Okafor. Fortunately, Kaminsky is much longer and just as smart, which will allow him to better contest shots. Defensively, he reminds me of Pau Gasol in the sense that they are not elite defenders but can get stops because of their length and IQ.
Offensively, Okafor figures to be the more effective player but in a game that values spacing, Kaminsky is who I'd favor especially with Melo looking to drive. If our objective is to remain in the draft, our best option would be to trade down to get multiple picks and hope that D'Angelo Russell and Frank Kaminsky are available at both picks. They fit the triangle like a glove and are win-now players. IMO, their combined talent and fit exceeds whatever value that Okafor alone could bring (and I'm a big believer in him).
I like Frank--posted so several times(I think hes a clear cut top 10 pick)--but he is not Ok4 and there is no way the Knick swill pass on Towns for ANY player at 2. If you look back at the Ok4 Kaminsky video --Kaminsky had all sorts of problems handling Ok4 1-1 and that is senior to freshmen--project out where ok4 has worked hard on his body and game as Frank has the last 3 years.
I think Okafor has HOF caliber talent. I think Kaminsky could make an all-star game or two during his career ala Brad Miller. I have no misconceptions of the heirarchy that exists with these two players but I still think that Kaminsky is a better fit for our team than Okafor at the 5 spot. With a guy like Melo abroad, a big man that can space the floor and pass are at a premium, and Kaminsky ranks better in both aspects to Okafor IMHO. That doesn't mean I'd take him at 1 or 2 though. I'd prefer to trade the pick to a team like the Lakers (for 4 and 25) or the Sixers (for 3 and 15) to select Kaminsky with the latter pick.
If we do keep the pick and it's top 2, I agree with you that it needs to be either Towns or Okafor. Personally though, I think it's a poor maximization of the value that pick holds. There is a history of the Knicks doing this and it has inevitably come back to bite us in the ass e.g. selecting Shumpert in the 1st round when no one (but the Suns) considered him to be anything better than a 2nd round pick. He turned out to be a serviceable player but we theoretically could've traded down and ended up with a later first rounder to take Nikola Mirotic and a 2nd round to still select Shumpert. The same deal happened during the Gallinari draft; no one was really talking about the guy as a top tier lottery talent but we picked him at 6 when we could've theoretically taken Brook Lopez at 6 and then traded him to the Nets for picks 10 and 21. Looking at that draft, I have a hard time believing that Gallo (with back problems) wouldn't have been around at 10. And at 21, we would've had our pick of Serge Ibaka, Ryan Anderson, Nicolas Batum and DeAndre Jordan to pick from. Anyway, the point is that we need to look beyond just the BPA and start trying to find the best value in the draft, which entertains the possibility of trading down.
3/27/2015 3:12 PM