Was their selections cases of conviction. They simply wanted the players they knew and worked with closely. Or was it limited to CAA clients?
Hopefully its the former and they did not ignore better options and did their full due diligence. I did not think Toppin was the best available. Although he was my hope for 8,(especially over most of the PG's and SG's discussed by mock drafts ie. Haliburton,Vassell, Lewis, Hayes), did not have him higher than Deni. Feel Deni is going to be the surprise of the draft and had the same potential ceiling as the top three. The question is did the Knicks pass on him because of allegiance to CAA or because they really saw Toppin as higher ranked pick? The other issue is did the Knicks consider the Toppin fit in the decision. If you look at his game he is a post up player in the half court. More fitting to the old NBA. Then there is the log jam and same basic playing style as Randall. Is Randall gone? Deni would have been a better fit but not just for the current roster but also in todays NBA. He is a pure stretch at 6'10' and exactly where the new NBA is at. However, we can make a case for Toppin being the most ready player and the safest pick. He is also a beast athletically and one of the most exciting players in the draft. Reminds me of Kenyon Martin and STAT.

As for Quickley. I would argue that he was not the best value at 25. Feel he could had been had at 33 and maybe we could have picked up Terry or McDaniels at 25. Two players with more upside and ones that we would not have to rush. But again, Quickley has just as much chance to turn into a solid player and one can argue that he was a solid shooter, good defender and sacrificed his stats for the better of the team at Kentucky.

Still do not get the lateral trade of the 33/Okuru pick. Liked the potential of him being a future backup to MR. Also hoped that some of the players we had options on would have been traded for another second rounder. But its clear that Rose/Wes did not want to carry more than 2 rookie contracts.

Overall I give this draft a B+. Happy with Toppin and Quickley despite the other ways we could have gone. As we all know nothing is a sure thing. Unfortunately NO ONE knows how these kids will turn out. It will be interesting to see how the CAA connection plays out in the future. Hopefully Rose/Wes are not placing a premium on having a CAA connection without also considering what is best for the Knicks. Feel they are not done and will add some key pieces in Free agency.

I am conflicted by 'Should the new Regime be complimented or feared for their loyalty to CAA guys?'

On an economic level, I think restricting your talent pool is always negative. And since this is a game with finite resources, I tend to wish they would expand their circle.

That said, I think there are advantages to going with CAA guys. They have a stable of a high quality guys. I mean, it can't be a bad thing having Coach Cal encouraging his guys to try the Knicks if they have a chance, right? If, say, KAT demands a trade an calls Cal for advice, that is probably pretty okay right?

HofstraBBall wrote:As for Quickley. I would argue that he was not the best value at 25. Feel he could had been had at 33 and maybe we could have picked up Terry or McDaniels at 25. Two players with more upside and ones that we would not have to rush. But again, Quickley has just as much chance to turn into a solid player and one can argue that he was a solid shooter, good defender and sacrificed his stats for the better of the team at Kentucky.

The old age argument of value of pick at a certain slot and whether you should take the player you like even if you could get him a few draft positions back.

Miami, one of the better teams at finding talent, disagrees with this, witness Herro and Bam (both of whom should/could have gotten later in draft).

If you LOVED Donovan Mitchell at say pick 5 three years ago, would you have done so?

Lots of room for argument

martin wrote:

HofstraBBall wrote:As for Quickley. I would argue that he was not the best value at 25. Feel he could had been had at 33 and maybe we could have picked up Terry or McDaniels at 25. Two players with more upside and ones that we would not have to rush. But again, Quickley has just as much chance to turn into a solid player and one can argue that he was a solid shooter, good defender and sacrificed his stats for the better of the team at Kentucky.

The old age argument of value of pick at a certain slot and whether you should take the player you like even if you could get him a few draft positions back.

Miami, one of the better teams at finding talent, disagrees with this, witness Herro and Bam (both of whom should/could have gotten later in draft).

If you LOVED Donovan Mitchell at say pick 5 three years ago, would you have done so?

Lots of room for argument

Agreed. If your scouts, coaches, draft research, work outs results in favoring one player over another, it does not matter where you pick them. As mentioned, feel that is what took place. My desire for them go slightly different direction is just my like for other players. I trust they know a lot more than I do about these kids. Was excited when we picked up Okuru. Disappointed to see him traded. But overall I think draft got us 2 solid players. How they fit and how the roster gets filled out will be interesting to see.

In terms of CAA connection. I am hoping the loyalty shown gets rewarded by FA's wanting to come here. Excited to see what we get in FA. Feel Rose is far from over.

Who do you feel the Knicks will sign?

Kidd-Gilchrist represents the fifth player former Kentucky player on the Knicks, joining Julius Randle, Kevin Knox, Nerlens Noel and Immanuel Quickley. Nine of the 12 players acquired/signed/drafted by Leon Rose since he took over as team president are either CAA clients or former Kentucky players.

The problem I'm noticing is that they are not recruiting their top CAA/Kentucky players, just mediocre talent.

This is kind of crazy because like phil not wanting to fck with anyone outside his triangle circle, Leon is pretty much doing the same thing.

Knixkik wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

Kidd-Gilchrist represents the fifth player former Kentucky player on the Knicks, joining Julius Randle, Kevin Knox, Nerlens Noel and Immanuel Quickley. Nine of the 12 players acquired/signed/drafted by Leon Rose since he took over as team president are either CAA clients or former Kentucky players.

The problem I'm noticing is that they are not recruiting their top CAA/Kentucky players, just mediocre talent.

This is kind of crazy because like phil not wanting to fck with anyone outside his triangle circle, Leon is pretty much doing the same thing.

I think the plan is to build up the foundation then show those top guys later on that this is the place for them to win.

You ever here of the saying "you get what you paid for", that's usually the case in 90% of the things you purchase.

smackeddog wrote:This CAA thing is replacing 'The Triangle' as something writers will squeeze into every transaction and article

Haha you are correct.

KnickDanger wrote:

smackeddog wrote:This CAA thing is replacing 'The Triangle' as something writers will squeeze into every transaction and article

Haha you are correct.

Yeah but the triangle angle was real and the CAA/Kentucky angle seems real this time too. Like the fact Leon Rose kid was secretly one of Obi’s handlers for CAA and Rose was trying to trade up for him to get him and by default give him a higher rookie salary is disturbing. The fact the Knicks signed MKG who averaged 3pt and 3rb last year disturbing. Also why is Theo Pinsion taking up a 2-way contract spot on the roster? Also the other 2-way contract went to another CAA client as well.

Why are the Knicks using valuable roster space on CAA/Kentucky reclamation projects only?

At the very least CAA/Kentucky ties has made the Front office lazy in scouting or bias in scouting. At the worst this is outright corruption/nepotism and CAA is once again treating MSG like a trick to get money out of.

Like Klutch LA has a bias but they seem to put winning first, and have been clear with their goals (Get AD and win a championship). CAA Knicks plan is to sign CAA/Kentucky players, coaching, and staff. That’s all I see right now.

Oh another positive Woj will be more positive about the Knicks because he finally has a inside source in Thibs who will feed him information to tweet about. So no more tacky JR Smith / Phil Jackson hit job articles from him because he’s pissed he doesn’t have a inside source on the Knicks. That’s a positive because it’s not like Shams is just as good as Woj now, younger, and he doesn’t ego trip and have Tantrums if he doesn’t have a source.