Paladin55 wrote:Then (17/18) and Now (21/22)

No man crush- just think that draft sites saying he lacks strength did not see him play this past college season.

I think the pictures clear up the question of Fields body strength. That is why sometimes letting a kid grow and develop and taking him at 22 years old is better than taking a 19 year old with potential, but with whom you have to wait a few years.

Finestrg wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:

Paladin55 wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:I have no problem taking this player if thats the way they wanted to go--I do have a problem witht he composition of the team and the absolute lack of effort in making the defensive side of the ball better--we literally haev a roster filled with 4 wings and a combo G --HOW MANY F SF/WING G DO THE NY KKNICS NEED WHY DID WE NOT GO ALL OUT TO GET WHITESIDE ONCE HE DIPPED??? WE ARE THE SMALLEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE--BY FAR YOU DO NOT WIN THAT WAY THERE WAS TALENT TO BE HAD HAD THE 5--WE MADE NO EFFORT

Agree on Whiteside. We are paying the Bucks $1M for Jordan- we could have payed $2 M for Whiteside.

WHY????? who can answer our question?

How do we know Sac. is willing to sell Whiteside for $2M, $3M or any other number...That unexpectedly got themselves a real jewel there at 33 with this kid...They probably want to keep him. I hope we at least inquired at some point though.

I wonder if knowing what they know now, that Whiteside was gonna be there at 33, if they would've still taken Cousins 5th?

I would have tried to get the pick before Whiteside was taken, but when I look at who we could have dealt with in the 2nd Rnd (Donnie was not willing to buy a #1 because of cap ramifications)-New Jersey, Miami, Sacramento, I could only see Miami selling us the pick, since NJ was drafting for someone else and Sacramento, I would assume, wanted Whiteside.

On the other hand, perhaps Walsh simply did not like him as a player.

Paladin55 wrote:

Finestrg wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:

Paladin55 wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:I have no problem taking this player if thats the way they wanted to go--I do have a problem witht he composition of the team and the absolute lack of effort in making the defensive side of the ball better--we literally haev a roster filled with 4 wings and a combo G --HOW MANY F SF/WING G DO THE NY KKNICS NEED WHY DID WE NOT GO ALL OUT TO GET WHITESIDE ONCE HE DIPPED??? WE ARE THE SMALLEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE--BY FAR YOU DO NOT WIN THAT WAY THERE WAS TALENT TO BE HAD HAD THE 5--WE MADE NO EFFORT

Agree on Whiteside. We are paying the Bucks $1M for Jordan- we could have payed $2 M for Whiteside.

WHY????? who can answer our question?

How do we know Sac. is willing to sell Whiteside for $2M, $3M or any other number...That unexpectedly got themselves a real jewel there at 33 with this kid...They probably want to keep him. I hope we at least inquired at some point though.

I wonder if knowing what they know now, that Whiteside was gonna be there at 33, if they would've still taken Cousins 5th?

I would have tried to get the pick before Whiteside was taken, but when I look at who we could have dealt with in the 2nd Rnd (Donnie was not willing to buy a #1 because of cap ramifications)-New Jersey, Miami, Sacramento, I could only see Miami selling us the pick, since NJ was drafting for someone else and Sacramento, I would assume, wanted Whiteside.

On the other hand, perhaps Walsh simply did not like him as a player.

i think Donnie Walsh has shown over his career that he's not afraid to take flyers on kid's with big upside that may need time to groom & develop... i'd put the chances higher that MDA didn't like Whiteside personally... he doesn't seem to like frontcourt players that don't have a developed offensive game or perimeter shot... just a guess & i'm not throwing accusations his way, but seems to fall under the category of the type of player he hasn't shown a particular affinity for over his coaching tenure.

Ira wrote:Whiteside's a player with extreme talents and weaknesses. He's a great shot blocker, a bad post defender, a very good rebounder, an awful passer, a decent finisher and a guy with a low basketball iq. I think we did at least as well getting Jordan.

Whiteside is a freshmen who lead int e entire NCAA in shotblocking had a much more developed offensive game than many younger bigs[older for that matter] athletic and had all the ability in the world to put on a neded 18 pounds or so to get to 245. To say what a guys weakness are after his freshmen year is kind of ridiculous given that he lead the NCAA in shotblocking and avg a double double[almost]

Let me go take a look at what Landry Fields and Andy rautins were built like and what kind of impact they had as freshmen--? I have no problem with drafting who we did. I think we let a huge opportunity pass by with Whiteside when it's our biggest deficiency. If we made strong statement on the defensive end--then you can draft for need.

Let's not forget we're talking 2nd rounders here! This isn't a top 5 pick we messed over here. Who knows if any of these picks ever reaches his potential. I'm just glad that my initial disappointment was misplaced, cuz DW did in fact go for a big in this draft. Just not at the spot I expected. 3 decent prospects with maturity in the 2nd round. Sounds like you can pretty much get what you expect from these guys. There still waiting for Tyrus to reach his potential. Oh wait Chicago isn't waiting he's already gone. Oh well they still have Hinrich, oh no he's gone too. What about that Ben Gord... oh yeah he's gone. How long has Deng got before they tire of waiting on him to fully bust out? These are 1st rounders and they didn't really go as far as the Bulls expected. This draft thing is tough. Let's see how things go with these guys who were drafted to fill in our bench mostly.

I really like this pick. Stanford had a bad year and I think thats why he was discounted. This guy was productive, consistent and smart all year. I really think we may have picked up someone who just went under the radar but can be a good player.

I think of Fields in a similar manner as Toney Douglas in last year draft. Both led their league in scoring their senior year. Both were under the radar due to not being big enough? or playing out of their natural position, or whatever. Toney Douglas was the fastest of his year but doesn't have a good vertical jump. Fields is considered a little slow but had the 2nd highest vertical. Both have a high BB IQ. Both played on a bad team their final year without supporting players; both took charge and took over the offense. I am happy with Fields as a second round pick. Give him a chance.