What will Isiah do with draft?
BY GREG LOGAN
Newsday Staff Writer

June 28, 2006

Knicks fans can only wonder what might have been tonight when Chicago exercises the second pick of the NBA draft obtained from the Knicks in the Eddy Curry trade. It will be a long wait after that until the Knicks are up with the 20th and 29th picks, which they got in other deals.

In what generally is considered a weak draft, it could be a real crapshoot even for Knicks president Isiah Thomas, who demonstrated his eye for talent last year by selecting Channing Frye, Nate Robinson and David Lee, all of whom became contributors. Now that Thomas is set to succeed Larry Brown as coach and has been given one year by owner James Dolan to show improvement, he could be tempted to package the picks for immediate veteran help.


But Thomas said, "I'm not going to be shortsighted, even though there is pressure on me to do big things here. I won't shortchange the Knicks' organization and do something hasty."

Despite choosing two forwards last year and trading for Curry, the Knicks still could use a rugged shot-blocker and rebounder. They also need an upgrade at small forward, and despite their plethora of guards, they might be tempted if Miami point guard Guillermo Diaz falls to the 29th spot.

Most mock drafts have the Knicks taking 6-9 Memphis freshman small forward Shawne Williams with the 20th pick. But if Connecticut's 6-11 center Hilton Armstrong fell, they'd likely grab him. Other big men who might be attractive include 6-10 Brazilian Marcus Vinicius, 6-10 Connecticut forward Josh Boone, 6-11 Michigan State center Paul Davis and 6-10 West Virginia forward Kevin Pittsnogle.

"A lot of teams above us are talking trades and really haven't settled on the direction they want to go," Thomas said. "When you're sitting at 20 and 29, you're basically trying to catch what falls to you."

It's also possible the Knicks could be drafting players who might wind up in a sign-and-trade package for free agents down the line if Thomas doesn't want his team to get any younger.

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/41132/20060627/isiah_wont_be_shortsighted_in_draft/

Thank God. Alot of what I think about Isiah could change tomorrow and how the season goes. If Isiah shows me that he's going to draft and sign players with a committment to defense and are good team players then I will be very happy to change my stance on him.

[Edited by - nyk4ever on 06-28-2006 12:14 AM]

I think Isiah will go BPA. the nice thing is, he and Suhr usually have pretty interesting and accurate ideas about who the best player available is...


and I'm really not ruling out a trade.

[Edited by - crzymdups on 06-28-2006 12:14 AM]

Even though we have cruddy picks in a week draft, tomorrow is a big day for what's left of the franchise.