Posted by BigSm00th:
They want Hilario, because he could play center AND would be able to play his contract in Brazil out, wouldn't count against the cap, and therefore LAC wouldn't have to pay him, therefore paying zero rookie contracts instead of two for one year. The 1 to 5 picks are going to be Ming, Williams, Dunleavy, Gooden, Tskitisvili. Then at 6 the Cavs would probably take front court help, like Wilcox. If the Knicks at 8 and 12, (Hilario would go 7), I would take Butler with 8 (that would give the Knicks the ability to trade Sprewell). Then Jeffries, Woods, and Wagner would go 9 to 11. That would leave Amare Stoudemire, who could mature into a player as good as Wilcox or Hilario. The Knicks would be able to solidify the small forward and power forward.
With Postell at 2-guard and drafting a point like Maddox or Parker, 4 of 5 positions would be taken care of after the draft. By signing a guy like Keon Clark to play center (he is skinny, but with an up-tempo offense this team would have), that wouldn't be a bad team, especially once Butler and Stoudemire matured with Parker or Maddox.
Complain about a point guard jam, but they could put one in a trade. Since Layden wants to shake things up, you could package Sprewell with either Thomas or Camby and then either Eisley, Ward, or Jackson in a trade. The Knicks might be able to fetch a package of players with expiring contracts.
[Edited by - bigsm00th on 06/24/2002 21:33:00]
Good analysis bigsm00th. The Knicks need one of Butler or Tskitisvili to go in the top 5 for them to get a shot at either Wilcox or Nene. If Cleveland takes Wilcox with the 6th (and if I were GM) I would think long and hard about the 7th for the 8th & 12th. Not having seen the workouts first hand, Nene could be a C/PF "tweener" who could lock up the center spot for years to come. That's hard to pass up. Think of a more athletic Mourning.
Now, is Butler really a small forward or a big 2-guard? Will Amare still be there, and more importantly, will he pan out? What if Miami takes Jeffries with the 10th to shore up their SF position and Phoenix takes Amare with the 9th to shore up their size needs? You are left with drafting Butler and Wagner with a team that already has Spree, Houston, Anderson and a jillion overpaid, slow point guards. What next?