Has anyone ever thought of this possibility?

The Knicks drafted Gallinari because they thought he had the most potential of all the possibilities at this point. They did not know he was going to be hurt and are as upset as us about the injury and are hoping for the best.

I know this isn't a popular scenario but I'm just curious why everything has to be about speculation and conspiracy theories?

I wasn't going to comment on the subject of why he was drafted in detail but I think it is necessary because you now have posters taking serious liberties with historical fact.

Newsflash newyorknewyork most draft picks are considered the star player on their teams. Where is this groundbreaking terrority. Not too many GMs are going to draft the 11 and 12th man on their college rosters unless that kid has a high potential. Like a Wright, Terry or Maggette.

The guy was described as an good international prospect in a draft year where international prospects were not highly touted. When Chad Ford is blasting a Euro as nothing special then it is time to rethink the decision. DraftExpress was the only site that was giving him high marks. And even those weren't knock your socks off like some now what to make them.

Also noted on many scouting reports was inability to get by "certain" type of players. Now normally when I see something like that it is a red flag. Means that the prospect doesn't really have the lateral quickness to get by defenders who have you guess it lateral quickness.

As noted in NBADRAFT.NET assessment

His body has ways to go before it will be on the NBA level Athleticism and explosiveness are just average Struggles dribbling the ball against physical defenders which hurts even more considering his blow by ability is limited His secondary moves off the dribble are subpar and he is often forced to shoot difficult and offbalance shots Tends to dribble the ball high and even looks down on it as he is attacking, hurting his court vision and decision making Has minimal elevation on his jumpshot, he is more of a set shooter and his release is very robotic and lacks fluidness His legs are stiff which makes his movements seem a bit awkward and it takes away from his quickness While he has good height, he is strictly a perimeter player as he has minimal back to the basket moves and his weak frame also makes him a non threat in the post His rebounding numbers are only decent, for a player at his position, getting major minutes, they should be higher Defensively he is a liability; he gambles too much, plays with his hands down and is undisciplined Marginal foot speed and a weak body will leave his opponents salivating in excitement to abuse the mismatch

Now this was noted prior to his run in with Tractor. So you have one of two choices. Either note that he had a serious back issues prior to his draft and I guess for awhile that limited what you believe he is capable of doing or acknowledge that he was never capable of performing such feats as are now being described by some posters as gospel. I don't think there is a middle ground here. Logic doesn't allow it.

Posted by Bippity10:

Has anyone ever thought of this possibility?

The Knicks drafted Gallinari because they thought he had the most potential of all the possibilities at this point. They did not know he was going to be hurt and are as upset as us about the injury and are hoping for the best.

I know this isn't a popular scenario but I'm just curious why everything has to be about speculation and conspiracy theories?

and blame, don't forget blame. That's important for the ego.

Posted by Paladin55:

Posted by BRIGGS:

It is the height of myopic arrogance to think that any of us know all the prospects playing around the world, or that we really know how good a freshman, with one year of NCAA experience is going to be.


This reasoning is why we don't get KG's and Kobe's of the NBA and other teams do. If you cant see star potential in an athlete even in his senior year in HS then you shouldnt be working in the nBA.

[Edited by - BRIGGS on 03-20-2009 1:01 PM]

You and I know that making picks is not something you can do correctly 100% of the time. If it is that easy perhaps you should volunteer your services to a team and then work your way up as your prove yourself. There are some sure bet players who everyone believes will be a star (Of course that does not mean the player will end up being a star.), but in most instances, there are disagreements about how far a particular kid will get in terms of success. As you move up from HS to college it becomes easier to pick out star quality because they are facing better competition, but to think that you can say, with certainty, that a HS will be a star in a team sport is actually a bit arrogant.

Making assurances of stardom for a player after a year in the league is easier to do, but even then you can't be sure because players aren't machines, and there are many things that can affect their performance as they continue to play.

[Edited by - Paladin55 on 03-20-2009 1:37 PM]

Yeah, like a pre-existing back injury.

Posted by Pharzeone:

I wasn't going to comment on the subject of why he was drafted in detail but I think it is necessary because you now have posters taking serious liberties with historical fact.

Newsflash newyorknewyork most draft picks are considered the star player on their teams. Where is this groundbreaking terrority. Not too many GMs are going to draft the 11 and 12th man on their college rosters unless that kid has a high potential. Like a Wright, Terry or Maggette.

The guy was described as an good international prospect in a draft year where international prospects were not highly touted. When Chad Ford is blasting a Euro as nothing special then it is time to rethink the decision. DraftExpress was the only site that was giving him high marks. And even those weren't knock your socks off like some now what to make them.

Also noted on many scouting reports was inability to get by "certain" type of players. Now normally when I see something like that it is a red flag. Means that the prospect doesn't really have the lateral quickness to get by defenders who have you guess it lateral quickness.

As noted in NBADRAFT.NET assessment

His body has ways to go before it will be on the NBA level Athleticism and explosiveness are just average Struggles dribbling the ball against physical defenders which hurts even more considering his blow by ability is limited His secondary moves off the dribble are subpar and he is often forced to shoot difficult and offbalance shots Tends to dribble the ball high and even looks down on it as he is attacking, hurting his court vision and decision making Has minimal elevation on his jumpshot, he is more of a set shooter and his release is very robotic and lacks fluidness His legs are stiff which makes his movements seem a bit awkward and it takes away from his quickness While he has good height, he is strictly a perimeter player as he has minimal back to the basket moves and his weak frame also makes him a non threat in the post His rebounding numbers are only decent, for a player at his position, getting major minutes, they should be higher Defensively he is a liability; he gambles too much, plays with his hands down and is undisciplined Marginal foot speed and a weak body will leave his opponents salivating in excitement to abuse the mismatch

Now this was noted prior to his run in with Tractor. So you have one of two choices. Either note that he had a serious back issues prior to his draft and I guess for awhile that limited what you believe he is capable of doing or acknowledge that he was never capable of performing such feats as are now being described by some posters as gospel. I don't think there is a middle ground here. Logic doesn't allow it.

If this is all Gallinari will ever be, assuming his career isn't over, his basketball abilities pre-draft will start to take on mythical proportions. It's actually been happening since the Knicks drafted him.

Posted by martin:

Posted by newyorknewyork:

The Knicks drafted Gallinari because of his passion & love for the game of basketball, work ethic, desire to be great, IQ, heart, toughness, confidence, intensity, poise. Then there is the fact that he was the star player and go to guy at 18-19yrs old vs grown as men in the top level in Europe. A guy that only played better as the pressure of the situation and game got higher. As the go to guy he was able to attack the basket drawing fouls, or shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor, Had good handle and passing ability for a guy his size.

They felt they were getting a guy with that *IT* factor characteristic wise, that all great basketball players have. As well as identifiable skill set with his ability to handle, shoot, and pass.

I don't believe he had serious back issues in the past because Draft express has scouting reports that have been scouting him since 2005 and none of the mention him having any type of back issues. And they have no reason to withhold that information if he did. Then there is the fact that Gallo played deep into the season last yr for his team which is why he missed some draft workouts during the draft. How is a player going to have serious back problems yet have the season that he had last yr in Europe as the go to guy with teams attacking him and putting there best and most aggressive player on him to slow him down? He was also able to play very well in the 2nd half of the summer league game until he got Trailor'd.

If he has serious back problems yet was still able to have the seasons he had in Europe then imagine if his back was never hurt. He would be like the greatest player ever.

at first I thought this was nixluva posting

I felt like nixluva when I was writing that. But that's why I believe they drafted Gallo which is why I won't knock the pick. I have no problem with our GM taking a guy who has the desire and work ethic to be great.

Posted by newyorknewyork:

Posted by martin:

Posted by newyorknewyork:

The Knicks drafted Gallinari because of his passion & love for the game of basketball, work ethic, desire to be great, IQ, heart, toughness, confidence, intensity, poise. Then there is the fact that he was the star player and go to guy at 18-19yrs old vs grown as men in the top level in Europe. A guy that only played better as the pressure of the situation and game got higher. As the go to guy he was able to attack the basket drawing fouls, or shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor, Had good handle and passing ability for a guy his size.

They felt they were getting a guy with that *IT* factor characteristic wise, that all great basketball players have. As well as identifiable skill set with his ability to handle, shoot, and pass.

I don't believe he had serious back issues in the past because Draft express has scouting reports that have been scouting him since 2005 and none of the mention him having any type of back issues. And they have no reason to withhold that information if he did. Then there is the fact that Gallo played deep into the season last yr for his team which is why he missed some draft workouts during the draft. How is a player going to have serious back problems yet have the season that he had last yr in Europe as the go to guy with teams attacking him and putting there best and most aggressive player on him to slow him down? He was also able to play very well in the 2nd half of the summer league game until he got Trailor'd.

If he has serious back problems yet was still able to have the seasons he had in Europe then imagine if his back was never hurt. He would be like the greatest player ever.

at first I thought this was nixluva posting

I felt like nixluva when I was writing that. But that's why I believe they drafted Gallo which is why I won't knock the pick. I have no problem with our GM taking a guy who has the desire and work ethic to be great.

How do you know that he does?

What exactly was he doing from July up until training camp to get his body straight?

Posted by GKFv2:

How do you know he doesn't?

Duh, because he's in Italy looking for more opinions on what he should do about his back. Something that could have been done between July and training camp.

Your turn.

Posted by newyorknewyork:

Posted by Pharzeone:

I wasn't going to comment on the subject of why he was drafted in detail but I think it is necessary because you now have posters taking serious liberties with historical fact.

Newsflash newyorknewyork most draft picks are considered the star player on their teams. Where is this groundbreaking terrority. Not too many GMs are going to draft the 11 and 12th man on their college rosters unless that kid has a high potential. Like a Wright, Terry or Maggette.

The guy was described as an good international prospect in a draft year where international prospects were not highly touted. When Chad Ford is blasting a Euro as nothing special then it is time to rethink the decision. DraftExpress was the only site that was giving him high marks. And even those weren't knock your socks off like some now what to make them.

Also noted on many scouting reports was inability to get by "certain" type of players. Now normally when I see something like that it is a red flag. Means that the prospect doesn't really have the lateral quickness to get by defenders who have you guess it lateral quickness.

As noted in NBADRAFT.NET assessment

His body has ways to go before it will be on the NBA level Athleticism and explosiveness are just average Struggles dribbling the ball against physical defenders which hurts even more considering his blow by ability is limited His secondary moves off the dribble are subpar and he is often forced to shoot difficult and offbalance shots Tends to dribble the ball high and even looks down on it as he is attacking, hurting his court vision and decision making Has minimal elevation on his jumpshot, he is more of a set shooter and his release is very robotic and lacks fluidness His legs are stiff which makes his movements seem a bit awkward and it takes away from his quickness While he has good height, he is strictly a perimeter player as he has minimal back to the basket moves and his weak frame also makes him a non threat in the post His rebounding numbers are only decent, for a player at his position, getting major minutes, they should be higher Defensively he is a liability; he gambles too much, plays with his hands down and is undisciplined Marginal foot speed and a weak body will leave his opponents salivating in excitement to abuse the mismatch

Now this was noted prior to his run in with Tractor. So you have one of two choices. Either note that he had a serious back issues prior to his draft and I guess for awhile that limited what you believe he is capable of doing or acknowledge that he was never capable of performing such feats as are now being described by some posters as gospel. I don't think there is a middle ground here. Logic doesn't allow it.

I didn't see you posting this news flash when people were stating how Gallinari was only drafted because of MDA connections or to sell tickets. I wonder why?

Draftexpress 2006

When asked to create his own shot from the perimeter, Gallinari doesn’t outright explode past opponents, but rather uses his mind and terrific skill-set to maneuver his way to the basket, using strong head fakes, terrific ball-handling ability and plenty of craft to outsmart his defender and find space to operate. Once he gets in the lane, his strong body and gritty determination allow him to take contact from opponents and still finish strong. All these characteristics help him become a solid slashing threat at a very high European level from what we saw both here as well as on tape, but it’s not quite clear how effective he’ll be in this area once he reaches the next level—either the Euroleague or NBA.

What is clear is that Gallinari does not force the issue. He is incredibly poised and mature for someone this young, being highly unselfish and more than willing to play within the flow of the offense and defer to his more veteran teammates when need be. He’s a terrific passer who has indeed been hailed as a bit of a point forward, ala Dejan Bodiroga, and from what we’ve seen there isn’t any reason to dispute that.

Draftexpress feb 2007

Gallinari’s characteristics speak maturity any way you look at them, and he’s still a guy with great potential. He’s really long, already in the 6-10 neighborhood, enjoys a good wingspan and a notable frame. Actually, he’s a pretty strong player who holds his own against top international competition. It’s interesting to note how in both games, Gallinari shot a combined 21/22 from the free-throw line. It speaks wonders about his free-throw shooting (obviously), but particularly about his ability to force fouls. Despite being only 18 years old, he’s rather aggressive in terms of attacking his rivals, precisely taking advantage of that strength and frame. He uses his body really well while slashing, which paired with his footwork, ball-handling, ability to finish near the basket, basketball IQ and even his excellent size, helps him to easier see the court, allow him to keep perfect control of the situation and take good decisions in motion.

Draft express Nov 2007

Anyway, it’s still remarkable that a 19-year-old kid becomes the leader of a Euroleague squad. Danilo had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals against Unicaja in the Euroleague, and went for 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 steals against Varese in the Italian Lega. We’re not talking about a guy who randomly gets points in the flow of the game, but a player who actively takes decisions on the court. Not surprising since Gallinari is arguably the best one-on-one player on the team. As we could see against Unicaja, he repeatedly attacked his opponents off the dribble. It’s a combination of his excellent ball-handling skills with both hands, great use of his body, terrific footwork, and very nice ability to finish around the rim with difficult layups. He delivered the play of the game with a wonderful coast-to-coast play, dribbling in traffic and finishing with a left-handed lay-up. With his team trailing in the last quarter, he went as far as to demand the ball and take it up-court himself.

I could post more and more but im not going to. Everyone here already knows that you didn't want Gallo as the pick because you like your big men a certain way. So it would be a waste of time even getting into it with you post after post. But I wonder how a guy with chronic back issues was able to handle getting hit so much and going to the line so much last yr or throughout his european career? Or a guy with such poor blow by ability be able to get in the lane and be able to create that contact?

good job with the research, nyny.

Posted by GKFv2:

Could have done? He did what the doctors here told him to do and it didn't work. Hence he didn't need to go check anything out till now. How does that prove he has no work ethic?

He spent the summer back home in Italy and the Knicks didn't see him again until training camp. What was he doing exactly?

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by GKFv2:

Could have done? He did what the doctors here told him to do and it didn't work. Hence he didn't need to go check anything out till now. How does that prove he has no work ethic?

He spent the summer back home in Italy and the Knicks didn't see him again until training camp. What was he doing exactly?

i dunno, do you know what he was doing?

this is silly.