stanleybostitch wrote:All you guys who are saying "whole league is laughing" at Knicks - you're buying into an anti-Phil, anti-NY, anti-Knicks bias made worse by those who feel slighted by Phil asking them to man-up and get with the program. Phil has this team on the right track - we have three young building blocks, ALL our future draft picks, and plenty of cap room. If you don't see this you're eating the tripe being fed to you by those with an agenda (or those who are just parroting others instead of thinking for themselves).

Very true. The anti Phil bias is spearheaded by the media who dislikes Phil because he gives them almost nothing in the way of interviews/content.

SupremeCommander wrote:none of us know **** about Frank. I place my faith in Gaines though. I am skeptical because Frank hasn't produced. I understand that a big part of drafting is projecting but his numbers do not impress at all

They are kids. They rank them on their assets and the project them on their tools to capitalize on those assets. The rest is fate. I just think this was by any means a stretch.

fishmike wrote:

Vmart wrote:Ntlikina, Smith and Monk will all be good players. I wish all of them success in the NBA. Ntlikina just brings more to the game that the Knicks need. The Knicks need was Size, defense and versatility. Ntlikina can probably play three positions easily. I like the pick I see length with skills and vision. He has a very good first step and you can see he has good explosion once he gets by his man.

every player has a downside. There is always a chance they never develop the additional skills that elevate their impact. Well if that happens than Dennis Smith Jr becomes a bench scorer who is a poor defender with limited court vision. Frank's downside is he never has a great handle, cant get his shot off and isnt a lead guard. Guess what? He could still be a starting 2 who can defend 3 spots and be an excellent 3&D player. Shane Battier comes to mind... modest stats, always helps his teams win.

Frank has just as much upside as the other guys in his range, he's already acclimated to playing pro game, mistake free BB and fitting into a system. Get him there and let him grow from there. He doesnt need to run the team, but if we are going to move forward building around KP/Willy we will need great defense on the outside. Thats what this pick is about first.

BigDaddyG wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Vmart wrote:Ntlikina, Smith and Monk will all be good players. I wish all of them success in the NBA. Ntlikina just brings more to the game that the Knicks need. The Knicks need was Size, defense and versatility. Ntlikina can probably play three positions easily. I like the pick I see length with skills and vision. He has a very good first step and you can see he has good explosion once he gets by his man.

every player has a downside. There is always a chance they never develop the additional skills that elevate their impact. Well if that happens than Dennis Smith Jr becomes a bench scorer who is a poor defender with limited court vision. Frank's downside is he never has a great handle, cant get his shot off and isnt a lead guard. Guess what? He could still be a starting 2 who can defend 3 spots and be an excellent 3&D player. Shane Battier comes to mind... modest stats, always helps his teams win.

Frank has just as much upside as the other guys in his range, he's already acclimated to playing pro game, mistake free BB and fitting into a system. Get him there and let him grow from there. He doesnt need to run the team, but if we are going to move forward building around KP/Willy we will need great defense on the outside. Thats what this pick is about first.

The can't get his shot off stuff is a bit overblown. With his length and touch, he'll be able to score over most guards. The question is will he be able to create quality shots as he matures. He's shown flashes of a floater and pull-up mid-range game. Will he learn moves that enable to get in the teeth of the defense consistently and make plays. I think so.