Naturally I have hindsight to make my point, and knick fans booing last nite wanted something we could not have. Two wins moved us from what we did not know at the time would be the no 1 pick but that bitch Lady Luck moved us back two spots. That hurt.

The culture here is now different and we took the player with the highest potential and the down side is we have to develop him. What we don't know is which player going 1-2-3 will if any have an instant impact. So basically those booing are starphuching.

Its also a bit funny to assume all Euro's will forever disappoint. Its like saying all Duke players for a while under achieved and will forever do so. Its like saying all Black players can jump higher the white guys are smarter and college coaches don't make good pro's.

Basically if we took the safe route then we draft for Melo. This pick was made not for Melo in mind, but for maybe the 5 years after he is gone! Phil took a guy not to make him look great next year and quiet the masses, but a kid who will be 23 when Phil's contract is up. Phil is building it for the long term.

Last year he might have thought he could make the playoffs but it was what it was. Maybe he thinks he can rebuild with Melo, maybe he things he gets Melo off to a good start and then trades him, or maybe he has Jimmy Butler for Melo trade all lined up. We are not privy the to the plan. Our friend Holfresh is like many knick fans clamoring for glimmers of hope and excitement that can be attained sooner than later. I think PHil made a very signifiant pick last nite that indicates he is serious about changing this franchise.

Starphuching is out. Playing it safe is out. WCS was there as was maybe a deal to trade dowwn and get Frank and another player. INstead we have a kid as tall as Jabbar and plays like a guard. This is very different. He has star potential. Its a risk, and fans are not used to this!!! I'd rather we went this way than in 4 years go "Why did we pass on this kid? Knicks and fans are IMPATIENT!!"

We don't have a pick next year and Im glad we did not draft based on that. Do whats right for the team, not sacrifice the long term to win next year so the draft pick is lower. That might sting a bit but the pick is gone. Get over it. Be glad Phil has.

Grant for THjr is more about upside potential and Triangle implementation . I had the opportunity to see him play twice in person and he is solid. What makes him good Triangle fodder is a reputation of being a high IQ player and for now be the Teams ball QB. This is huge as THjr was seen mostly as a streaky shooter. I think we got good value for him, but he is a rookie!

On to Free agency and the intrigue of cap space and does Melo stay or go.

Nalod wrote:

StarksEwing1 wrote:We nearly got okafor im still pissed. Imagine okafor and grant would have been a coup

But we didn't. Maybe zinger in a few years is better than Oka4? No doubt we take him if there. Hornets took frank over Winslow! Think of longer term implications if Justise evolves?

StarksEwing1 wrote:

Nalod wrote:

StarksEwing1 wrote:We nearly got okafor im still pissed. Imagine okafor and grant would have been a coup

But we didn't. Maybe zinger in a few years is better than Oka4? No doubt we take him if there. Hornets took frank over Winslow! Think of longer term implications if Justise evolves?

i just hope he isnt darko thats my biggest fear. I want the kid to succeed

There is a list guys we can fear he can become!!! There are no sure things in this draft.

Darko was not vetted properly and he had the tools to be great, but did not like playing ball. Same for Eddy. Lets be clear, some of these kids waffle about coming here and want to be paid. No doubt some of these Euro kids are not too keen on coming here right away and when they become a big deal in europe and get paid, they don't want to lose their status and take a pay cut. This kid wants in NOW!!!

Pops been winnig with Euros for years but nobody says a thing cuz there are no euro Stars on his team. This kid is seven freaking two with a seven freaking 6 span and he can shoot!!!!

Im gonna root hard but Nalod got his expectations grounded and not having high apple pie in the sky hopes he is in the ROY conversation! Im gonna hope its Grant who creates the buzz!!! I hope Bargs comes back and these guys can go at it in practice. Two 7 footers with paremeter skills. THis is not a bad thing.

Nalod don't care about playoffs either. I'd like to double the win total to about 35. PHil was a starphuch but if he don't act like one even better. Riley tanked his team and stripped it down a few times before they won any bling.

WaltLongmire wrote:

Knixkik wrote:This trade was the best of both worlds. We added hopefully a future star but also a guard who is a fit and can contribute right away. Also with our second round selection, hopefully we get a future backup center. It was a great draft if you had moderate expectations. It really laid the foundation for the future of this team.

Yup- simply put and to the point, unlike the way I write.

Folks always talk about BPA, but the lure of a quick fix seems to be too much for some.

Have to think that Phil saw some things about the games of Winslow and Mudiay which caused him to downgrade them a prospects.

I wanted Porzingis, but shortly before the draft I also commented that Phil might think about going for a more NBA ready player in the draft.

As you said, we just may have gotten the best of both worlds in this draft, but I do disagree about the moderate expectations tag. I think this draft points to Phil having high expectations for the future while you patch together a competitive team in the EC, which is not as hard to do based on recent team performances.

Quick fixes and passing on the BPA are examples of moderate expectations, the Porzingis pick was a bold and makes you think Phil does care about the long term health of the franchise, even after he's left it.

I also see it as a kind of message to Anthony- Phil is going to find support for Melo as one player on a team, but he's clearly decided that Anthony is not the foundational piece of the franchise, and maybe even thinks that he made a mistake resigning him.

Good points but we really don't know about how phil feels. Melo is an asset on the court and as a trade chip. We can debate the level of value but thats long been discussed. If healthy the kid can avg 30 a nite. Not many can do that. Play within the triangle we have yet to see because the roster was not Triangle friendly.

Having to hit a hope run in Free agency to pair with Melo? I don't know. Melo is not entitled to be on a championship contending team, he choose to stay and get paid. He is a talented player who has bought in (at least philisophically) into being here and a member of the Triangle culture. If he is amicable and the value in return is good he might be ok to trade. I throw out sign and trade with bulls for Jimmy Butler as a win-win for both. Bulls get a player that might fit in better to what they are trying to do NOW. I don't know how Phil feels about butler, or trading Melo. Melo sells seats and surrounded by a more balanced roster might have a good chemistry. He might be toxic and reject the whole thing. We don't know.