As a Vegas Summer League rookie, I was immediately struck by how similar the play was to the high school summer leagues I once played in. Average height aside, the play was disjointed, the mood was apathetic and the skill level was mediocre at best. When and where I played summer league basketball, the marquee players were Ray Young and Justin Davis, so I was mildly disappointed to see that they weren’t around again this summer.

The fact is that rosters are filled with players that have a better chance becoming the foil for the Professor of And1 than they do to ever play for an NBA club.

Saturday night was the first time I had seen Renaldo Balkman play live and while not whatsoever wowed, I was genuinely impressed with the subtle fundamentals of his play. He isn’t some undisciplined athletic freak from Coney Island. His game has nuances that Isiah Thomas, for all of his other shortcomings, has an uncanny knack for spotting.

(Sidebar: This is why all the hyperbolic talk that this will be the last time Isiah Thomas is ever employed by an NBA team is absurd. Even if James Dolan subjectively decides that there wasn’t ‘significant improvement,’ Thomas will undoubtedly reappear in a front office, should he decide he would like to. If I were the GM of an NBA team, I would hire Thomas on the day his era in New York concludes as my lead scout.)

Returning to Balkman, his dribbling surely needs significant improvement, but it is better than advertised, certainly better in the open floor than a Ron Artest or Dennis Rodman, two players that Thomas has a penchant for comparing him to. (These comparisons do remain excessively optimistic)

In the first half of Saturday’s game versus Phoenix, he was in the right hand corner and dribbled left-handed and got to the basket before he was hacked.

Balkman was especially impressive though in the second half, when he caught the ball on the baseline about 10 feet out and was able to get to the rim for an aggressive dunk without needing a dribble. His footwork was impeccable on the play and is an excellent sign for the Knicks.

Besides, the last thing the Knicks need is another player that needs to dribble in order to score, (i.e.: passing on Marcus Williams was the prudent move). Stephon Marbury, who was sitting on the bench with the club, is as firmly embedded in New York as a player like Tim Duncan is in San Antonio and the logjam at point guard would have become five deep had they drafted Williams. The euphoria of drafting a player projected as high as five at 21 would have lasted about 5 minutes before the realization that he is the last thing they needed would have kicked in and people would have begun wondering just as passionately why Thomas didn’t select a touch, defensive-minded forward, perhaps Renaldo Balkman?
Which position Balkman ends up being more effective guarding won’t be known until the preseason depending on how much muscle mass he gains and how exactly those arms look underneath the t-shirt that appears to be glued to his body, but it is without question that he will be a factor defensively, particularly off the ball. He will be, at worst, a pest that steps into passing lanes with fervor and projects, in my eyes, as a player that will be in the talk for the All-Defensive team in his third or fourth season.

On the night of the draft, the Balkman backlash was reminiscent of the Charlie Villanueva firing squad from Toronto a year ago. The Villanueva era is already over in Canada, primarily because his value was too high for Bryan Colangelo not to utilize it to fill a need at point guard.

Balkman won’t be the 'Villanueva' of this draft, but he surely could become the 'Nate Robinson.' Robinson was projected as a 2nd round gimmick, a player who, at best, would be a dunk champ midget sideshow, but demonstrated a better perimeter shot than expected and a capacity for altering the game, even as a rookie, that few can accomplish. Robinson's impact was only impeded by Larry Brown, who at times was willing to sacrifice the rookie's contributions to the team, in order to 'teach bigger lessons' and control his showy play.

Balkman will follow suit and as the first move in the ‘Countdown Isiah-Era’ and could unless he makes a significant trade, will be the most influential on saving his coach/GM’s MSG life.

2) Nate Robinson was a project 2nd round pick? That's laughable.

Posted by martin:

well, NY and PHO had Robinson marked in the 1st round.