This is the guy we got at 19- "General" Grant, another player who comes from a basketball family, and whose coach said:

“He has the highest basketball IQ of anybody in this draft, so picking up the triangle will be no problem,” Brey told SNY.tv and The Knicks Blog at the NBA Draft at Barclays Center. “He’ll be showing people the triangle by the second day.”

At 6-5, Grant has tremendous size for a point guard, which allows him to see over the top of defenses and get his shot off almost whenever he pleases. He's an underrated athlete, showing a very quick first step and the ability to change speeds fluidly, even if he possesses just an average frame and isn't terribly explosive from a vertical standpoint.

Grant's best attribute from an NBA standpoint clearly revolves around his playmaking ability. He is a decisive passer and an extremely unselfish player overall, making reads automatically and whipping the ball impressively all over the court. He has a tremendous natural feel for finding the open man regardless of where they are on the floor, being capable of making every pass in the book, be it high or low, and to cutters, rollers or shooters. Unlike many big guards, he's not a combo looking to make the transition to the point, he's already a tremendous distributor.

His 7.3 assists per-40 minutes pace adjusted ranks fourth among DX Top-100 prospects

He might just be what Mudiay will become someday, but is probably more NBA ready at this point in time.

No, at the advanced age of 22+, he would never be considered at #4- he's already getting AARP mailings, but he does many of the things Mudiay can do, and has been a leader on an excellent and well coached team.

For those of you who wanted Mudiay:

What great competition did he play against in China? How many games did he play in league where an Errick McCollum (39.6PPG) is their scoring leader and Marbury probably has a statue of him standing next to Mao Zedong!

How is Mudiay not considered an unproven commodity while a guy who moved to another country at 15 and has played against grown men in a real league, not the NBA knockoff league that is the CBA, is talked about like he was pulled off a volleyball court a year ago and told to put the big orange ball into the big orange hoop.

This was a great draft for the team. We get two basketball junkies who have experience against good competition. We get a PG who can do many of the things Mudiay can do- a high character leader- and we get a player who many believe will be the top player from to come from this draft someday- a guy some said would have been the top pick in the draft if he had played/matured another year.

Both are intelligent and both are tough

Not only that, you have a guy who, after he dines with Rihanna and gives her some Latvian love, probably takes his keys and goes to the gym to work on his moves.

Guys got to stop whining and realize that we came out very well in this draft, and Jackson is creating a foundation which will be there well after he and other notables are gone from the franchise.

Get over it, already, and let's see how things go.

You'll have enough time in the future to curse me out and question my BB wisdom when he does not look like Dirk on day 1.

If you want to relive all the crap that came up from you guys when I did my first Porzingis thread... here it is-

http://www.ultimateknicks.com/forum/topic.asp?t=51178&page=1

No need to say anything more, since you probably said the same things in that thread.

StarksEwing1 wrote:Personally i love the grant trade. As for prozingis im half and half on it. Love the talent especially his shooting. However he is a project and needs to bulk up. Unfortunetly some fans interpret that as me hating the pick which is bullcrap. I think its a high reward high risk pick which is fine

Two high character intelligent guys who come from basketball families and have played the game for a number of years.

All on Porzingis at this point. Will be interesting to see how he responds to the booing, but I think he was intelligent enough to expect it.

Grant deal stunned me more than the Porzingis pick at 4, because he really can do some of the things Mudiay can do, but is probably more disciplined.

Nalod wrote:Ny fans have no patience. Lament and blame is no way to root for team.

Dolan makes his money no matter what, but what kind of pressure did Thomas feel?

WaltLongmire wrote:

Nalod wrote:Ny fans have no patience. Lament and blame is no way to root for team.

Do you think this drove Isiah, in some ways- the feeling that you had to do things sooner rather than later?

Dolan makes his money no matter what, but what kind of pressure did Thomas feel?

It didn't work. That was then. This is now!

nixluva wrote:

Nalod wrote:Ny fans have no patience. Lament and blame is no way to root for team.

This was my main point in not wanting to take Kris. Not that he doesn't have talent but the insane impatience of NY fans and Media who will be chomping at the bit to trash the kid. You all know how the media is in NY if this kid doesn't start off strong they will be all over him and Phil. Still Phil did what he felt was right and didn't care what the Media of some fans thought.

This was a good draft for the Knicks. Lots of potential which is a big thing for this team.

WaltLongmire wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

nixluva wrote:

Nalod wrote:Ny fans have no patience. Lament and blame is no way to root for team.

This was my main point in not wanting to take Kris. Not that he doesn't have talent but the insane impatience of NY fans and Media who will be chomping at the bit to trash the kid. You all know how the media is in NY if this kid doesn't start off strong they will be all over him and Phil. Still Phil did what he felt was right and didn't care what the Media of some fans thought.

This was a good draft for the Knicks. Lots of potential which is a big thing for this team.

I think the fan base will embrace Grant right away. Hopefully that buys Kristaps a little time to gain some girth. I also think Kristaps is a mentally tough guy and that was part of why he was selected.

Would expect him to be at 240 by the start of the season.

They have to monitor him, though. He might take the boos too personally and overwork himself. Weren't there some rumors that Gallinari might have hurt himself weightlifting when he first came here?

Grant was a steal- does a lot of the things Mudiay can do. Called him a possible Russell Wilson on another post- I think he will be coming in and looking to be a starter midseason, at least.

Also comes from a basketball family and from a good BB program. Jackson did not lie about looking for character and maturity. Among the 3 guys we picked up they have as much BB experience against decent competition as anyone.