re blair, pf's that short haven't succeeded in the nba in a looooong time. a great college player - the nba scouts placed him where his relative value is in this league. as to who is right, as usual we shall see eh?

Posted by TMS:

why would we draft Blair when we just took Hill?

Exactly. No thanks to Blair.

He's got Sweetney written all over him.

Posted by nixluva:

Screw Blair! Douglas shot 38% from 3pt range and has the strength to shoot well from NBA 3pt range. He's mature, a leader, quick, long and a great defender!!!! Let me repeat... A great defender!!! A guard that WANTS to defend on every posession, full court! Man he's what we hoped Nate would be.

The last thing we needed was another short PF! A kid like Douglas is EXACTLY what we need to improve on both ends of the court. You can turn him loose on D now that we've got shot blocking!!! I'm shocked that anyone would have a problem with better D plus great offense!!!!

Your thinking is way to too clear for some to comprehend. DOuglas is a great pick and will be a very strong contributor on this team. He really outplayed Ty Lawson on NC during their game match-ups and for the entire year in the ACC. Lawson went on the 18th pick and was slated to be picked earlier. Douglas was slated right after Lawson, but is a better offensive and defensive player. Lawson is a better ball handler and therefore a better pure point guard.

Douglas brings intensity on winning and a focus on defense on a Knicks team that needs both.


[Edited by - markji on 06-28-2009 4:49 PM]

Posted by TMS:

why would we draft Blair when we just took Hill?

Good teams have quality depth. Ewing, Oakley, Mason. Smits, A. Davis, D. Davis... Plus he was the best available player still on the board..

[Edited by - finestrg on 06-28-2009 2:00 PM]

Posted by VDesai:

I thought Blair was one of the biggest bust risks in the draft, and when he fell out of the first round it just confirmed that not only did GM's agree, they also must've found out some bad things about his knees. Therefore he was not worth a 1st round pick and a guaranteed contract. If you could buy a 2nd ronder to get him, that's a great risk to take, but if you're trying to keep your cap uncompromised then its tough to justify giving him a guaranteed contract for a couple of years. Knicks need for him was also hugely mitigated by the drafting of Hill. Knicks needed a guard with their 2nd pick. Was upset we missed on Ellington and preferred Thornton and Jermaine Taylor, but I did like Douglas and I think he will be a contender to be a good third guard.

Same here. Obviously there were better players on the board even if some came with a little risk (Blair's knees) but I'll support Douglas. I think he'll be a good player...


[Edited by - finestrg on 06-28-2009 2:05 PM]

Posted by TMS:

Posted by VDesai:

I thought Blair was one of the biggest bust risks in the draft, and when he fell out of the first round it just confirmed that not only did GM's agree, they also must've found out some bad things about his knees. Therefore he was not worth a 1st round pick and a guaranteed contract. If you could buy a 2nd ronder to get him, that's a great risk to take, but if you're trying to keep your cap uncompromised then its tough to justify giving him a guaranteed contract for a couple of years. Knicks need for him was also hugely mitigated by the drafting of Hill. Knicks needed a guard with their 2nd pick. Was upset we missed on Ellington and preferred Thornton and Jermaine Taylor, but I did like Douglas and I think he will be a contender to be a good third guard.

i told everyone months before the draft i wouldn't even consider Blair unless it was w/an extra 2nd round pick we purchased for cash straight up... people were talking him up like he should go in the lottery around here for a time... i just don't get the fascination w/all these undersized PF's as if every one of them will turn out to be another Charles Barkley or Elton Brand.

I watched him closely and to me he was a special player.

Posted by Finestrg:

Posted by TMS:

Posted by VDesai:

I thought Blair was one of the biggest bust risks in the draft, and when he fell out of the first round it just confirmed that not only did GM's agree, they also must've found out some bad things about his knees. Therefore he was not worth a 1st round pick and a guaranteed contract. If you could buy a 2nd ronder to get him, that's a great risk to take, but if you're trying to keep your cap uncompromised then its tough to justify giving him a guaranteed contract for a couple of years. Knicks need for him was also hugely mitigated by the drafting of Hill. Knicks needed a guard with their 2nd pick. Was upset we missed on Ellington and preferred Thornton and Jermaine Taylor, but I did like Douglas and I think he will be a contender to be a good third guard.

i told everyone months before the draft i wouldn't even consider Blair unless it was w/an extra 2nd round pick we purchased for cash straight up... people were talking him up like he should go in the lottery around here for a time... i just don't get the fascination w/all these undersized PF's as if every one of them will turn out to be another Charles Barkley or Elton Brand.

I watched him closely and to me he was a special player.

maybe he will be... only time will tell... i wouldn't be surprised if he turned out to be the better player than Douglas either... but until we see how things pan out i think it's too early to start questioning the logic behind taking Douglas... afterall in our current situation w/Nate's contract up in the air & him likely to be dealt, Donnie did need to find a replacement for him in the rotation... maybe Douglas will prove to be it... seems like a hard working kid to me from what little i've seen of him in interviews & comments i've heard from MDA & Walsh... i'm not gonna go crazy over some late 1st round pick at this point either way.

If I can have one person explain to me how Toney douglas is better than Jerel McNeal--I would love to hear it. From watching both McNeal is the more athletic guy who is just as tough with just as much skill.

It cost the Ny Knicks atleast 4mm $ for Douglas McNeal couldve been had for 475k?

You take Blair there

Posted by misterearl:

who is Jerel McNeail and when did he play in the ACC?

Jerel McNeal played in a better conference - The BigEast for Marquette. I like the Douglas pick, but I can see where people might say McNeal might be the better option and could have been had a little later. Like I said though, I like the pick.

Posted by martin:

Posted by BRIGGS:

If I can have one person explain to me how Toney douglas is better than Jerel McNeal--I would love to hear it. From watching both McNeal is the more athletic guy who is just as tough with just as much skill.

It cost the Ny Knicks atleast 4mm $ for Douglas McNeal couldve been had for 475k?

You take Blair there

why do you take Blair when you just drafted Hill, and have Lee, Harrington, Chandler, Jefferies who all can play the 4?

Knicks have Duhon, expiring Hughes, Nate who may be traded or let go... and who else at the G position?

Was Jerel McNeal even drafted? I guess that means a LOT of GMs didn't like him for whatever reason. Maybe the Knicks still have a shot at him.

The more I think about it--the more I cant believe we didnt take Blair. It was pick 29. I mean just thinking back on both McNeal and Douglas--jeez I think McNeal might be a tad better.
The problem is I think we let a lottery type talent go by us--a guy who brings back some of the 90's toughness that we havent seen obviously in a long time. We have no assurances with David Lee and I would think that they will play Hill more at the 5. People comparing Sweetney or Tractor Traylor or anyone else doesnt get it--he is not those guys and he's already proved it this offseason/ He's cat-quick for his size and quite athletic--the toughness both mental and physical--he's the kind of guy that wears down interior defenders/rebounders. Again I was hoping for Derrick brown but I wouldnt have valued him over Blair. We need a leader and there are intangibles of winning basketball/sports of any kind. He's an intimidating force. He's going to be a top rebounder right away. If you listen to what the Spurs said--they tried to move up into round 1 for him which to me says a lot. It's too bad and oh well but we did invest 4mm into this and I think we didnt get the $ worth. We'll have to wait and see.

Posted by martin:

Posted by BRIGGS:

Posted by martin:

Posted by BRIGGS:

If I can have one person explain to me how Toney douglas is better than Jerel McNeal--I would love to hear it. From watching both McNeal is the more athletic guy who is just as tough with just as much skill.

It cost the Ny Knicks atleast 4mm $ for Douglas McNeal couldve been had for 475k?

You take Blair there

why do you take Blair when you just drafted Hill, and have Lee, Harrington, Chandler, Jefferies who all can play the 4?

Knicks have Duhon, expiring Hughes, Nate who may be traded or let go... and who else at the G position?

Was Jerel McNeal even drafted? I guess that means a LOT of GMs didn't like him for whatever reason. Maybe the Knicks still have a shot at him.

The more I think about it--the more I cant believe we didnt take Blair. It was pick 29. I mean just thinking back on both McNeal and Douglas--jeez I think McNeal might be a tad better.
The problem is I think we let a lottery type talent go by us--a guy who brings back some of the 90's toughness that we havent seen obviously in a long time. We have no assurances with David Lee and I would think that they will play Hill more at the 5. People comparing Sweetney or Tractor Traylor or anyone else doesnt get it--he is not those guys and he's already proved it this offseason/ He's cat-quick for his size and quite athletic--the toughness both mental and physical--he's the kind of guy that wears down interior defenders/rebounders. Again I was hoping for Derrick brown but I wouldnt have valued him over Blair. We need a leader and there are intangibles of winning basketball/sports of any kind. He's an intimidating force. He's going to be a top rebounder right away. If you listen to what the Spurs said--they tried to move up into round 1 for him which to me says a lot. It's too bad and oh well but we did invest 4mm into this and I think we didnt get the $ worth. We'll have to wait and see.

we just drafted Hill and have a thousand other guys who play PF and you still want to draft a guy who a LOT of other GMs have hesitations over health issues? Were you a fan of the Twolves drafting Rubio and Flynn too? Cause it's almost the same scenario.

The Knicks need help at the PG/SG positions.

We couldve stock up on guys for the SL for free who were either not drafted or UFA's. If you ask most people who was the most dominant big man after Blake griffin this year--the answer was Dejuan Blair. We don't have that type of player on this team. I don't think you bypass that.

That kid from France De Colo or Calathes were worth spending 500K on around 45-50


I think the Spurs did very well in the draft and they did it from round 2.

[Edited by - BRIGGS on 06-29-2009 01:30 AM]

[Edited by - BRIGGS on 06-29-2009 01:43 AM]