After getting lit up by the rudderless Golden State Warriors last Friday night, the Knicks dropped to 1-9 on the season. Now, the Knicks were awful during the Scott Layden regime earlier this decade. And we all know they became a perennial loser and league-wide laughingstock when Isiah took over. And the Knicks were also dreadful in the early 80's before Patrick Ewing arrived. But never before, in the history of the organization, have the New York Knicks been quite this bad – at least through 10 games. Yes, the 1-9 start was a franchise record for futility.

July 1st 2010 simply can't get here quick enough for depressed Knicks fans – who hope LeBron will be wearing #6 in New York next year. The loss left Knicks Head Coach Mike D'Antoni visibly upset and irritated at his troops. In his postgame press conference, he pounded the team for their lack of effort and intensity. "I just thought our lack of fight was the most disappointing thing… We can't be slow and small and not fight. Those are good combinations and that's where we are now." said D'Antoni. He later compared some his starters to "zombies." Stop me if you have heard this before: things can't get much worse for the Knicks right now…

Well, that was before Jennings exploded for his 55-point outburst in Milwaukee. The reason this is added salt in the wounds of Knicks fans is because Jennings could be on the Knicks roster right now. The Knicks had the #8 overall pick in the draft, and chose forward Jordan Hill out of Arizona, despite the fact the franchise desperately needed a point guard, both for this season and going forward. Chris Duhon played well at times last season, but was never viewed as more than a competent backup. Moreover, Duhon's jumper is broken and he is playing with zero confidence right now. He looks lost out there. Over the Knicks last five games, Duhon has missed 27 of the 30 FG's he has attempted, and is averaging just 2.8 PPG despite playing nearly 30 minutes. And although rookie Toney Douglas has shown flashes playing both guard spots, he is not someone Donnie Walsh and company can rely on as the true "PG of the Future."

And although the much ballyhooed "Summer of 2010" free agent class is in fact arguably the most stacked collection of free agent talent in professional sports – let alone NBA – history, the one position that is shockingly thin is, yup, point guard. With Steve Nash re-upping in Phoenix last summer and Rajon Rondo inking a long-term deal to stay in Boston, there will be very, very few quality point guards available on the free agent market. If Raymond Felton stays in Charlotte, the pickings will be remarkable barren. Who's going to get overly excited about Rafer Alston or Steve Blake…

With that in mind, Knicks fans have a tough time watching Jennings light it up in Milwaukee. As I tweeted on Saturday: "Jordan Hill has 25 points so far this season. Brandon Jennings had 29 in the third quarter tonight. Someone make sure Donnie Walsh is ok..."

Worse yet, it wasn't just Jennings that slipped through the Knicks hands. The 2009 draft may go down as one of the deepest and most PG-rich drafts in recent NBA history. Ty Lawson, who fell to #18 overall, was ready to contribute from Day One and is playing very well in Denver ( please tell me you all saw his dunk on DJ Mbenga). Eric Maynor has turned heads (37 points and 15 assists in last two games) while filling admirably for Deron Williams in Utah. Other notable point guards selected in the first round of last June's draft include: Jrue Holiday, Jeff Teague, Darren Collision, and Rodrigue Beaubois… The Knicks coming out of that draft without a top-notch PG prospect, when they so desperately need a 'point guard of the future,' is about as likely as a Hall of Fame football coach going for it on 4th down and 2 from his own 29 in the last two minutes of a big game. Inconceivable

our point guard is coming from a deal involving curry/lee/jeffries/chandler,

and our superstar is coming via free agency. that's it.

playa2 wrote:

TheGame wrote:Brandon Jenning was on Jim Rome today. The kid sounds really mature. I don't understand why he had all those no-shows during the draft process. He does not sound arrogant at all. He is very humble and differential to the veteran players. This kid is going to be a star if he can stay healthy. We really missed on him.

Rubio was the one who was a no show at workouts, and told all the teams in the league they weren't worthy of a workout in a pg talented draft.

Jennings missed some interviews with a few execs and then did not show for that pre-draft workout in europe. That coupled with his comments about Rubio gave the impression that he was a prima donna problem kid in the making. But in listening to him and his comments since joining the Bucks, he is one of the most mature rookies I have seen in a longtime. Has his head on straight and knows how to say all the right things. Plus, I think he has already won over the vets on his team.