But there is hope! He seems to have handed over reigns to Donnie Walsh who seems to understand that to compete again the team needs to get under the cap. His mission is to get the team under the cap by 2010 when Lebron, D-Wade, and Chris Bosh become free agents and seems content to let the current contracts run out to ensure this will happen. With this in mind the Knicks have to draft the player who will be best in 2010, not the guy who will help them now.
There are two studs in this draft in Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley. These guys are probably going 1-2 unless Pat Riley goes nuts and drafts OJ Mayo who many believe would be a great pairing with Dwayne Wade in the backcoourt. Chad Ford has reported that this is a possibility but it seems highly unlikely. Mayo, many believe, is the only one outside of Rose and Beasley with star potential. I disagree.
There are two players I believe who can become All-Stars at their positions but are high risk/reward players. These are Anthony Randolph and DeAndre Jordan. Randolph is a 6'10" small forward from LSU. He has Tyrus Thomas-esque athleticism. He seems to have a bit more handle and some touch around the basket. He also shows touch on his shot as evident by his 70% free throw percentage and 47& FG percentage. Neither of those are great but are decent for someone who is so raw. One fear, specifically regarding his free throw shooting is the lack of knee bend in his shot. Tim Duncan has had the same problems and has never developed into a good free throw shooter but Randolph already shows more touch from the charity strip than TD. Randolph would take some time to develop but could thrive in D'Antoni's fast paced system. Furthermore he could probably play both forward positions in it even with fears he will never gain bulk and only have a Tayshaun Prince type body.
DeAndre Jordan is even a bigger gamble but might have an even greater reward. People throw out the name Dwight Howard as a comparison but Andrew Bynum might be a better one. Jordan did not test nearly as well as Howard did only having a 26" vertical and bench pressing 185 lbs eight times. Neither of those numbers are magnificent. Furthermore there are questions as to how much he can play as he only 20.1 minutes per game. His averages of 7.9 ppg and 6.0 rpg were fairly decent however for such limited amount of playing time. Concerns include not finishing strongly when not dunking and lack of any mid-range or back to the basket game. Still, he could fit in D'Antoni's offense as he does run the floor well but will definitely need time to develop.
Many have written the Knicks should go after Danillo Gallinari or DJ Augustin. Supposedly those in the Phoenix organization have said D'Antoni does not like Gallinari even though he did play with the Italian's father overseas. Gallinari is a skilled big man and might be able to play SF in the league. There are questions about his athleticism and the more video I watch the more he looks like Andrea Bargnani; a tall guy who roams around inside the 3-point line and shoots jumpers all day. If they pick him he would get little patience from New York fans, and with little athleticism, if his shot is not falling early and often might not get a chance.
Augustin, a 5'11" PG from the University of Texas, is thought of as one of the top PGs in this draft behind Rose, Jerryd Bayless , and OJ Mayo with the latter two being combo guards. He can do a bit of everything but reminds me of Jameer Nelson. The Orlando PG has been a little too undersized and not quite quick enough to make it in the league. At six Augustin would be a reach as he does not project to be a top notch PG.
If the Knicks stay at six they should go for Randolph. He could become the finisher on fast breaks that D'Antoni's offense needs. If they can get a deal to trade down and still pick up Jordan that would be good too, but there are rumors that he has a guarantee in the top 5. Gallinari and Augustin would be safe picks but do not have the upside of Randolph and Jordan, especially in 2010 when the Knicks will finally be competitive again.
Height Height w/ Weight Wingspan Standing Body Shoes Reach Fat
Anthony Randolph 6-9 6-10¼ 197 7-3 9-1 4.7 DeAndre Jordan 6-9¾ 6-11 250 7-6 9-5½ 7.5
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