Some of the greatest joys of being a sports fan, besides your favorite team winning the championship, are the debates that arise between fellow sports nuts along the way. It’s with this in mind that we have begun providing a forum for basketball fanatics to voice their opinions, debate trending topics, and simply hang out with like-minded hoops aficionados. We’ve begun been posting a new topic for readers to discuss each weeknight, which we hope that this will become a regular part of your sports day. If you missed our previous discussions you can view them here, or simply head over to the sidebar and select “Hoops Rumors Community Shootarounds.”
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Now that we’ve gotten the preamble and fine print out of the way, it’s time to get to the topic of the day: What should the Knicks do with the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft? New York’s dream scenario of landing the No. 1 overall pick didn’t pan out, and in fact, the franchise was the only one whose draft position worsened as a result of the lottery. Now the team is at the mercy of the Wolves, Lakers, and Sixers, all of whom select ahead of the Knicks. There have been reports that team president Phil Jackson is looking to trade down to secure more assets if one of the team’s top three targets of Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, and D’Angelo Russell are all off the board by the time the franchise is officially on the clock.
Would the team be better served to trade down for a lower pick and either a young veteran player who can contribute right away, or a future pick? Should Jackson stand pat and select the best player available? How about trying to trade for a star player, similar to how the Cavs obtained Kevin Love for Andrew Wiggins last summer? If so, then who do you think would be a reasonable target? Take to the comments section below with your thoughts and opinions on these points and more. We look forward to what you have to say.
Trade #4 to Sacramento in a deal for Cousins, who wants max money in a big market, which the Knicks can and will do. SAC gets a great pick, and they trade him out of the west.
If I’m the Knicks I absolutely make that trade. Not sure that’s a great deal for the Kings though. If the Knicks had one of the top two picks, then OK. Not enough value for Boogie at No. 4 in this draft.
If that’s the case if the kings truly want to trade boogie I’m sure the. Lakers would be interested with the 2nd pick
Absolutely. That would be a trade that could work for both teams, though the Lakers would likely have to throw in more to nab Cousins. Maybe both of Los Angeles’ first-rounders would get the deal done. Though there are rumblings that the Lakers made Joseph Young a draft promise at No. 27.
How about #4 and Tim Hardaway? He doesn’t pass, and he had some conflicts with Melo last season, doesn’t seem like a perfect fit for the team.
It makes little sense for Sacramento to trade for Hardaway when they already have McLemore and Stauskas. The Kings need a point guard, a stretch four, and a rim protecting big much more than another volume shooter with suspect defense.
Maybe they can trade Lou Amendson for Kevin Durant, considering it’s apparently fantasy land…
I’d pull the trigger on that deal…
They should hope Russell falls to them, and if not, take Winslow or Mudiay, or trade back for WCS or Cameron Payne…personally, I don’t think it matters b/c I think Phil Jackson has no chance at building that team well if he can’t adjust to today’s NBA, which seems like the case
I think Phil can adjust. I just wonder whether he can get lucky enough to make it matter. As barren as that roster is, beyond Carmelo, a lot has to work out for them to contend before Jackson’s five-year deal is up.
He won multiple championships in 2 different decades, with 3 different star players. He has won an NBA title as recently as 2010. The narrative that the most successful and innovative coach in NBA history will be unable to adjust to this era is flat out disrespectful.
I would never dispute Jackson’s ability as a coach. The man is perhaps the greatest of all time in that regard. But he’s a neophyte as an executive, and his biggest move thus far (trading Chandler to Dallas for next to nothing) doesn’t necessarily inspire confidence for the future. As a Knicks fan, I pray that he’ll knock it out of the park this offseason. But his championship ring collection means little when he’s sitting behind an executive desk. Until he proves that he can build a winning team in today’s NBA…which is a markedly different game from when Jackson last coached, a little skepticism is certainly warranted.
That’s true. There is no guarantee he will be a good executive but if he isn’t I don’t think it will be about x’s and o’s as much as getting the right coach and the right players.
Last time I checked, the lakers got wept out of the playoffs in his last season against a team that played a lot of spread pick and roll and was a top 3 point shooting team, who choose was the beginning of this shift in today’s game. Since then, we’ve seen that every champion plays that style. The knicks had one of the slowest paces in the nba last yeat. The season they won 54 games, they took the most 3 point attempts. Last year, they were 23rd in attempts and won 17 games, the lowest in franchise history. Phil agrees with that…enough said
I’m getting pretty sick of this auto correct stuff on my phone, especially with no edit function. So many typos lol
New York needs to trade this pick for a Point Guard, then follow it up by signing a big in the Offseason. You only have Carmelo for so long… Do what you can now.
Which available point guard do you see as being worth the No. 4 pick AND being a good fit in New York?
That’s the tricky part. If it can be pulled off, trading the #4 to Denver in exchange for Ty Lawson must be discussed… Whether or not the knicks feel the #4 will be better than Lawson one day. They need to contend now when paying such a large contract to a guy around his prime years, not waste it. Two years from now they could look back and at least say they tried, THEN rebuild and use the picks they get wisely. You can’t properly rebuild with a guy that averages 26-30 ppg near his prime being paid over $20 million per season to me. Reggie Jackson must also come up in these trade talks as well. Both can fit, just does Phil think they WILL or not.
I honestly don’t think Lawson is worth the No. 4 pick. Jackson, OK. But Lawson is a selfish player who isn’t a great fit for the triangle offense…which the team needs to scrap anyway.
Just take Winslow or Mudiay. If you want to trade down, then make sure you get another asset for this year or next.
Tradecthe 4 pick and caldron for ty lawson and wilson chandler
I’d worry that would be a lateral move without the upside that the No. 4 pick would carry. Plus, Chandler plays Carmelo’s position.
They should txrade the 4rth pick plus jose calderon to Sacramento kings for the 6th pick pluws darren colison, jason thompson anrd derick William then trade wiliam and hardaway to the Utah jazz for the 12pick.
Hope for KAT, Okafor, or Russell. The triangle needs shooters and Mudiay can’t shoot. Seems the Knicks are interested in Winslow and WCS, if they trade down, and try and get an additional first rounder, they could probably get one of those two. Also:
-They’re looking to trade Jose Calderon and his contract
-Past conflicts between Melo and Tim Hardaway Jr make a trade possible
-They have two large trade exceptions from the Cleveland trade
They have a few okay assets, and the ability to take on a larger salary with the exceptions, so the possibility of obtaining two decent first round picks, or trading for a star (Cousins? Parsons? Durant?) is likely
I would also stay away from Lawson. Not the size or shooting ability for the triangle. Russell is literally the perfect size/skill fit, so he must be choice #1. If he’s not available, then signing Dragic to a larger contract to keep him from the Heat is much better than wasting a pick on Lawson.
It has to be Mudiay, he is the best PG in this draft…his FT are suspect but his shooting is under rated I believe he shot 50% in china. Really though you cant go wrong with any of the “top 4”