One of the more impressive players I saw during summer league action. Look, no offense to Frank N or the Knicks for picking him (we'll have to wait and see--poor kid hurt himself) but truth be told, Dennis Smith Jr. was my guy all the way in this draft. Hard to swallow that he was actually there at 8 and we passed (we knew he turned down a workout with us but still elected to have dinner with Phil so I thought there was hope -- I wonder what they discussed if Phil and the Knicks weren't ever really interested?). Oh well, I think we still got a good player with Frank, just gonna have to wait a little while to see how good. But tuning in to watch Smith (and he looked great btw), I came away really impressed with Ashley. Listed at 6'8" 230 (he looks taller than that and REALLY long), this dude's a player, man. Awesome jumper with range, runs the court really well, finishes well with both hands, excellent quickness/agility/coordination for someone that big, puts it on the floor and he's got a post game. Looks like he can rebound well too and block some shots. Reminds me of a better overall version of Austin Daye mixed with a slightly smaller but under control Javale McGee. Numbers in college were ok, a little better in the D-League -- he's more of a pass-the-eye-test/gut feeling guy at this point. I just see a little bit of a late bloomer that's capable of a lot if given more responsibility. I actually see an NBA starter here. Definitely an NBA rotation player.. Was reading an article that Cuban wants to keep him but I tell ya man, if Dallas does cut him or if there's any way we can swoop in early with a contract offer to try to steal him, I think we should do it. Hey, a couple of summers ago Cubes came in out of nowhere and stole Mo Ndour away from us -- why not return the favor? And this guy looks like 10x the player Ndour is, and I like Ndour. Thoughts on Ashley?

I've liked him for a while .. flagged him as one of the options the Knicks should have considered last offseason before he headed off to Alba Berlin .. he has an intriguing combinations of skills and athleticism, although I think he struggles a bit with consistency, his jump shot and making the right plays at times .. still a bit raw but worth taking a flyer on.