Knowing that the draft wasn't as deep... And that there was a significant drop off in talent from those players outside the lottery; trading the #1 for Steph didn't hurt us.

In fact, I think Isiah's selection of Trevor Ariza @ #43 was still a pretty promising pick. He's 19, and although was a second round pick.. is arguably the top defensive wingman in the Pac 10. Aside from being an above average defender.. He handles the ball extremely well for a kid his size. Can get up with the best of him.. mad hops, and has a high basketball IQ. Contrary to belief.. he can shoot the ball, although he isn't consistant. In fact I think he could have just as easily went in the low 1st rd.. if teams were not scared off by his asthma related medical history. Its my opinion, he and Dorell Wright are neck and neck in terms of potential.. and I believe he was taken at #19 to Miami.

Another positive, was Isiah's signing of Andre Barrett. For real, I don't know how he went undrafted>>> Its crazy, The kid can ball for real! Teams quote unquote draft experts get so caught up in size, that they'll sacrifice talent for height. Look at the downward spiral of Jameer Nelson, case in point!
Andre Barrett is a BX native... can shoot, and is a excellent uptempo player. He passes the ball well and is a true playmaking point guard in every sense of the game. I have no doubt that he'll stick with the Knicks come next season, and should benefit from playing under Isiah, Lenny and even Steph!

Moreover, I think his arrival will spell the departure of either Moochie Norris or Frank Williams soon. Look for that to go down!

I agree he did pretty well. Ariza is a gamble on greatness kind of pick. There is a world of upside there. I don't think he's as good as Dorell Wright. Ariza may never be a great shooter. But he can be a guy who can D it up and handle and play a significant role down the line. He's definitely like taking a HS kid.

I agree with you on Barrett. I didnt want to draft him at 43, but getting him as an undrafted FA is good deal. He's tiny, but he's tough and can definitely play. If he plays with the same kind of heart and effort there may be a spot for him somewhere in the NBA. At this point I'd rather have him at 3rd PG than Moochie.

The next thing Isiah should do is sign Herve Lamizana to the summer league team, unless some other team already has...

TMS, I think the reason Herve went undrafted was because he measured out at only 6'9 215. He can block shots and can really jump, but everyone thought he was 6'11. I still think he can play, and an athlete like that shouldn't have went undrafted. I've seen him play for 3 years now and I'm sure he can play and get better on this level.

Trevor Ariza is fine with me cuz if the guy sucks and can't make the team no skin off our backs cuz second round picks don't get guranteed money.

6'8".....7' wing span? With Shandon Anderson on the team he should make the squad. I'd love to see him. Guys like Sprewell were drafted in the second round.

I'm a little bored with the off season. I wanna see blood.

it's funny, nobody on these boards ever mentioned ariza yet we're all defending him and talking about his potential like those fools on espn about every euro-guy out there.

isiah didn't even interview the guy. what this tells me is that isiah didn't like anybody he brought in and he doesn't really value this pick so he just picked up the best guy he read about. i think he was intrigued by his age and length. he may not make the team, very low risk and the definition of a 2nd round pick so isiah didn't and couldn't have botched it.

the kid almost avgd a triple-double in high school. 20pts 14rebs 9asst 3blks and 3stls. how about we all look at other players freshman years in college and rate him that way. then take into consideration a collapsed lung at the start of the season.good pick, even if he does'nt make our roster. you gotta like zeke's eye for talent. even though he might've had some help from kareem this year.

http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/108823505220380.xml

Rutgers forward Herve Lamizana also was invited to the Knicks camp, but he told the team he wanted more time to think it over. Lamizana has not returned several messages over two days since going undrafted.

It's good to see Isiah going out and trying to get local guys to play for the summer league team. Who knows, maybe this guy from Rutgers is a better player than Ariza. Good to see he's active.