http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=MockDraft-080602

The skinny:The Knicks want a lead guard who can push the ball and hit an open jumper. But if Rose, Mayo and Bayless are off the board, they'll have a tough choice to make.

I had Danilo Gallinari here in the first two versions of this mock draft, thanks to his Italian ties with D'Antoni.

However, a Suns source told me that D'Antoni wasn't a huge fan of Gallinari when he was shown some tape during the season, which has made me seriously reconsider that forecast.

The Knicks could gamble on one of the next two point guards on the board. D.J. Augustin is a great leader, a fantastic playmaker and the closest thing to Steve Nash in this draft. That's going to be a plus for Mike D'Antoni. Russell Westbrook is also intriguing. He's a top-notch athlete, a tenacious defender and an emerging playmaker.

The other choice might be to go with the best player available. In my mind, that would be Anthony Randolph.

Sorry I didn't need to make it an Off Topic thread... it's all about our Knicks at 6.


I think Chad is Enternally a Fraud but notice from his 3 suspected choices No Danilo Gallinari? Interesting I'd say Anyway can someone please strike up the endless Youtube videos on Augustin and Westbrook because this is who our org could be hinting at drafting and it's time to get on the bandwagon it moves rather quickly.




[Edited by - TrueBlue on 06-02-2008 2:50 PM]

Posted by TrueBlue:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=MockDraft-080602

The skinny:The Knicks want a lead guard who can push the ball and hit an open jumper. But if Rose, Mayo and Bayless are off the board, they'll have a tough choice to make.

I had Danilo Gallinari here in the first two versions of this mock draft, thanks to his Italian ties with D'Antoni.

However, a Suns source told me that D'Antoni wasn't a huge fan of Gallinari when he was shown some tape during the season, which has made me seriously reconsider that forecast.

The Knicks could gamble on one of the next two point guards on the board. D.J. Augustin is a great leader, a fantastic playmaker and the closest thing to Steve Nash in this draft. That's going to be a plus for Mike D'Antoni. Russell Westbrook is also intriguing. He's a top-notch athlete, a tenacious defender and an emerging playmaker.

The other choice might be to go with the best player available. In my mind, that would be Anthony Randolph.

Sorry I didn't need to make it an Off Topic thread... it's all about our Knicks at 6.


I think Chad is Enternally a Fraud but notice from his 3 suspected choices No Danilo Gallinari? Interesting I'd say Anyway can someone please strike up the endless Youtube videos on Augustin and Westbrook because this is who our org could be hinting at drafting and it's time to get on the bandwagon fast it moves quite fast.


[Edited by - TrueBlue on 06-02-2008 1:54 PM]

I can agree with Randolph or Westbrook but Augustin is to high at 6. I think one thing we have to come to terms with--The NY Knicks sck and we don't want to reach for a player on this particular team. I can see Augustin filling in well on some teams that are established with a good deal of size. That would leave us with two guards in the top 8 players who are not 6 feet tall. That is OK if you are playing CYO ball but when they are talking small ball--I don't think they mean that small. We would have no shotblocking and two guards who are looking up at their defenders shooting over their heads--an awful combination. We need defenders two way players--the two teams in the finals dont even have a *PG* per se.

Q. Knicks need a guard to push the ball and hit the open jumper?

A. Nate Robinson. The dude is the fast player in this league with the ball east to west. He also has a money jumper from all over the court.

Knicks need to pick the best player available according to them or trade the pick.

Denver has AI & Chucky Atkins

Posted by BRIGGS:

Posted by djsunyc:

Posted by BRIGGS:

I can agree with Randolph or Westbrook but Augustin is to high at 6. I think one thing we have to come to terms with--The NY Knicks sck and we don't want to reach for a player on this particular team. I can see Augustin filling in well on some teams that are established with a good deal of size. That would leave us with two guards in the top 8 players who are not 6 feet tall. That is OK if you are playing CYO ball but when they are talking small ball--I don't think they mean that small. We would have no shotblocking and two guards who are looking up at their defenders shooting over their heads--an awful combination. We need defenders two way players--the two teams in the finals dont even have a *PG* per se.

ideally, you want to take augustin later.

but if you're telling me that westbrook/randolph will be as good as kobe/gasol/odom/pierce/kg/ray...then ok.

What good team in the NBA has two players under 6 feet tall in their top 8?

that's not the point. the point is returning the knicks to respectability. you think they can take a chance here and imho, randolph is a chance.

and you're counting on nate to be here for the long haul.

you can take randolph or westbrook. that's fine. all i'm saying is that w/o a point guard, they will look at sh tty as everybody else on this team.

and point guards are hard to come by...

Posted by fishmike:

what good teams have one NBA player under 6 feet

hornets and raptors have pg's of 5'11 and both are in the playoffs.
mighty mouse wasn't that tall either and he was 1 game away from an nba finals.

& DAL had Avery Johnson

Posted by EnySpree:

Q. Knicks need a guard to push the ball and hit the open jumper?

A. Nate Robinson. The dude is the fast player in this league with the ball east to west. He also has a money jumper from all over the court.

Knicks need to pick the best player available according to them or trade the pick.

Nate Robinson is no where near the playmaker that Augustine is. As I have said before, 6 might be a little too high for Augustine, but I'd take him over Nate to run my team any day.

Posted by Uptown:

Posted by EnySpree:

Q. Knicks need a guard to push the ball and hit the open jumper?

A. Nate Robinson. The dude is the fast player in this league with the ball east to west. He also has a money jumper from all over the court.

Knicks need to pick the best player available according to them or trade the pick.

Nate Robinson is no where near the playmaker that Augustine is. As I have said before, 6 might be a little too high for Augustine, but I'd take him over Nate to run my team any day.

Give me Westbrook and you take Augustin and talk to me in 4 years.

Posted by BRIGGS:

Posted by Uptown:

Posted by EnySpree:

Q. Knicks need a guard to push the ball and hit the open jumper?

A. Nate Robinson. The dude is the fast player in this league with the ball east to west. He also has a money jumper from all over the court.

Knicks need to pick the best player available according to them or trade the pick.

Nate Robinson is no where near the playmaker that Augustine is. As I have said before, 6 might be a little too high for Augustine, but I'd take him over Nate to run my team any day.

Give me Westbrook and you take Augustin and talk to me in 4 years.

Whyo said anything about me taking Augustine over Westbrook? I was comapring Nate and Augustine. I even state here and in other threads that I wouldn't take Augustine at 6. Westbrook is good value at 6 if Mayo, Bayless are gone.

The thing that concerns me about Westbrook is he isn't a pure pg and adding him to this team continues the trend of adding guys who arent pure points (Nate, Mardy, Craw, etc) and hoping they can be nutured into one. Westbrook doesn't have much experince running a team and will definitely have to learn if he's going to be successful in this league. With that said, at 6, I would take Westbrook over Augustine because of the other atributes Westbrook brings to the table, defense, athleticism, and size at the point. Augustine is the purest pg in this draft, but his size and lack of real explosion really concerns me.


[Edited by - uptown on 06-02-2008 4:48 PM]

Found this on draftexpress.....Seems relevent with this topic.



Reporter: How did you know it was time to enter the draft?

D.J. Augustin: I just felt like I was ready mentally and physically. I had a great college experience, we won a lot of games and I think I developed into a pretty good point guard. I think I’m ready for the next level.

DraftExpress: What are you doing to prepare for the draft?

D.J. Augustin: I’m working out twice a day with Coach John Lucas in Houston; I have a trainer down in Houston also, so I’ve been lifting weights, and doing conditioning and skill work.

DraftExpress: What has been the biggest emphasis skill wise that you’ve been working on?

D.J. Augustin: Just being able to get bigger guards off of me, being able to play against the bigger guards. I have a lot of help with T.J. Ford down in Houston teaching me tricks. I’m just trying to learn as much as possible.

DraftExpress: A lot of people talk about your size; do you think that’s going to hold you back either offensively or defensively in the pros?

D.J. Augustin: No; I don’t think it’s really held me back my entire life. I’ve always been the smallest one on the floor; I have no problem going in with the big men and doing what I can do. Getting my teammates involved, that’s always been my goal.

DraftExpress: Is there any player in the NBA that you try to model yourself after?

D.J. Augustin: Offensively I try to play like Steve Nash; he has a lot of crafty shots he gets off against bigger guys. That’s going to be my main thing; I have to learn to do that.

DraftExpress: You went to Steve Nash’s camp over the summer. Is there anything you added there specifically that you feel helped you?

D.J. Augustin: Just learning how to run the pick and roll; executing that to perfection. That’s the biggest thing in the NBA, a lot of teams run pick and roll the whole game. That’s going to be a big key.

DraftExpress: Do you feel there is any type of offensive system in the NBA you’re more suited for? Maybe pick and roll, half court, or transition?

D.J. Augustin: At Texas we really played everything. We ran in transition; we brought it to the half court and ran pick and roll. So I feel like I’m ready for any offense, and I’m just going to keep learning.

Reporter: What workouts have you scheduled?

D.J. Augustin: I haven’t talked to my agent yet; we’re going to do that today, about who I’m working out with and when. I think my first workout is Wednesday, but I’m not sure with whom yet.

Reporter: Who is your agent?

D.J. Augustin: Thaddeus Foucher

DraftExpress: You hired your agent kind of late in the process; what went into that decision? Why did it take so long?

D.J. Augustin: I just like to take my time with every decision I make, I don’t like to rush things. I sat down with my family, we picked the guy I felt the most comfortable with, and that’s how it went. I took my time and went who I felt comfortable with; I think it was a good decision.

DraftExpress: Have you heard anything about your draft range?

D.J. Augustin: So people have me going six through fourteen, but I don’t listen to that stuff. Anything can happen on draft night, so you have to be prepared for anything and work hard.

DraftExpress: Some rumors have mentioned the Clippers and Indiana as possible destinations; do you have any feelings about those teams or cities?

D.J. Augustin: They’re both great cities and great teams. I just want to go to the best team that I can help in whatever role they need me in.

DraftExpress: Have you talked to Kevin Durant at all about the process?

D.J. Augustin: Yeah; I’ve talked to Kevin, I’ve talked to T.J. (Ford). I talk to T.J. a little more because he was in the same position I’m in as a point guard. But I talk to both of those guys about the situation.

DraftExpress: With Kevin leaving early for the NBA, how did you adjust to that at Texas?

D.J. Augustin: I just had to be more of a scorer. Coach wanted me to score more, but it’s hard to do because like I said I’m always looking for my teammates. I’m an unselfish guy on the court and I had to become more of a leader. That’s what I did, and that’s how I changed my game this year.

DraftExpress: What type of role do you see yourself playing in the NBA five years from now?

D.J. Augustin: Hopefully I’ll be a great point guard; a leader on the floor on a team that’s winning. Those are my main goals: help a team win and be the best player that I can be.

Reporter: For you talked to A.J. [Abrams] at all?

D.J. Augustin: No, not really.

Reporter: What’s his status right now? I know he’s not down here playing.

D.J. Augustin: I have no idea, I haven’t talked to him.

Reporter: D.J. how difficult was your decision last year to go back to school?

D.J. Augustin: It wasn’t that difficult at all because I knew I wasn’t ready for the NBA physically or mentally. I never really looked at leaving for the NBA. This year I just worked hard, it’s been my dream to play in the NBA, and this year I feel like I’m ready.

Reporter: Do you see better decisions being made by kids in terms of knowing when they’re ready? In past years you’ve seen kids leave early and then never really surface.

D.J. Augustin: You know that can really happen to anyone, there are no guarantees in this league. That’s one thing I want to do when I make it to the NBA; I don’t just want to make it, I want to have a long, successful career.



[Edited by - uptown on 06-02-2008 5:42 PM]