Disappointment. Knicks fans are used to it.
On Tuesday night, Knicks fans were let down again as their team didn't get the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery on Tuesday night.
You'd figure after all these years of disappointment, Knicks fans would be pessimistic going into the draft lottery. That didn't happen, and of course the Internet was full of Knicks jokes.
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Now, I'm all in for a good Knicks joke or two. I mean, after all we are the laughingstock of the entire league. However, some people are really acting like picking fourth is the end of the world, and I'm a little bit confused.
Statistically, they were expected to pick at No. 4.
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Second of all, isn't the top 4 pick good? Why is everyone so upset?
We have a chance to pick up a great point guard, something we haven't had in forever. It was either a great big man (Towns or Okafor) or great PG (Russell or Mudiay). I've seen Raymond Felton, Toney Douglas and Langston Galloway play point guard for my damn team,
I hate the stupidity of Knicks some fans. We have a shot to get a great player. You can't name a single draft where the best three players went in the top 3.
At this point, I'm kinda numb to most of the disappointment that comes with being a fan of the New York Knickerbockers. I can't lie though, I'm still a tad bit upset that we fell to No. 4. After all, I did spend the entire season hoping and praying we lost every single game.
I'm also excited, though. Excited that we have a load of cap space to spend and a top 4 pick.
Well I've finished my mini rant. Let's take a look the three most likely draft options for the Knicks if we keep the pick (which I hope we do).
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Emmanuel Mudiay, PG, Guangdong Southern Tigers
Vitals and Measurements: 19 years old, 6-foot-5 with shoes, 200 lbs, 6-foot-9 wingspan
2014–15 Stats (CBA): 18 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.9 APG, 47 FG%, 31.5 MPG
Even before the lottery results were announced, I was a huge fan of Mudiay. Maybe that's why I wasn't too upset when I found out the Knicks could draft him.
With the 76ers picking third, they'll have a shot at drafting Mudiay or D'Angelo Russell. I see them picking the lefty guard Russell, which would leave the Knicks to draft Mudiay .
When he was asked about the possibility of playing for the New York Knicks, Emmanuel was quoted saying this:
“If I was drafted by the Knicks it would definitely be a blessing. A historical team in the NBA, I’d love to come out here.’’
Mudiay had a legitimate chance to be the No. 1 pick last year, if he had a big season for SMU. Emmanuel decided to skip his freshman year and go overseas, which hurt his stock.
After the college basketball season, ESPN's Chad Ford still thought there was a chance that he could go first overall:
"Some teams have Mudiay as high as No. 2 on their internal big boards. A few teams have him ranked at No. 5. A small handful of GMs still believe, with strong workouts and the lottery balls falling the right way (toward a team like Philadelphia, for example), he could be the No. 1 pick. "
Of course, the lottery didn't fall the right way for Mudiay to get drafted in the top 2, but it's still good to know that some teams thought he was talented enough to go there.
Chad Ford also went into depth about how he and some other scouts saw Mudiay as a player.
"The scouts I've spoken with, along with SMU coach Larry Brown (whom I interviewed for the article I wrote), typically use three comps for him: Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and John Wall. For those less enamored with his skill set, the Tyreke Evans comp comes up a lot."
While he's not a great shooter yet and can play with tunnel vision at times, Mudiay shows potential to be a point guard who can find balance between running a team and scoring the basketball. He can score from anywhere on the floor yet can also be unselfish when he needs to be. I think his ability to get to and finish at the rim has teams excited. Perhaps his best attributes right now besides his size and athleticism are his ability to defend both positions in the backcourt and the high level of maturity he showed while playing (and often sitting on the bench) in China.
Mudiay would be a great pick for New York . I would have considered drafting him No. 2 if we had that pick. We haven't had a great point guard in a while. You can't teach size and versatility, and that's what makes Emmanuel so great.
His weaknesses aren't really a concern. John Wall, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook all still has turnover issues and don't necessarily have the best jumpers, but they still impact the game in an extraordinary way.
It's a point guard league right now, and I believe Mudiay has the most upside. I really think he can be the second best player in this draft class.
Justise Winslow, SG-SF, Duke
Vitals and Measurements : 19 years old, 6-foot-6.5 with shoes, 222 lbs, 6-foot-10 wingspan
2014–15 Stats: 12.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 48 FG%, 29.1 MPG
After committing to Duke, the hype around Winslow wasn't huge. Thanks to an extraordinary run in the NCAA Tournament, Justise Winslow put himself in the top 5 conversation.
ESPN writer Chad Ford was asked what were some NBA comparisons for Winslow
"A couple of comps come to mind for Winslow. I keep hearing James Harden, but I don't see that, at all. I think he plays with the energy, toughness and has the intangibles of a Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
"I think I like the Kawhi Leonard comp even better. Leonard was a little bigger and a little more established, but I think both could have a similar impact on both ends."
Another player that comes to my mind would be Jimmy Butler. It'd be great if Justise developed like a Kawhi or Jimmy Butler-type of player, but I have my doubts.
Offensively, Winslow worries me a lot. He shot a putrid 26.1 percent on his 2-point jumpers at Duke. He's a really bad free throw shooter for a guard (64 percent), and I'm afraid that will make him less aggressive when it comes to driving toward the basket.
I really like Winslow as an attacker though, and he has an NBA-ready body and can get the rack with ease. His bad free-throw shooting, average shot-creation ability and poor midrange game is an issue the Knicks can't overlook, though
Defensively, Justise is an animal, He can guard multiple positions and gets a lot of steals. I'm not worried about his defense at all.
However, if I'm drafting a player fourth overall, I want him to be great on both ends of the court. I don't want a glue guy or a fourth option — I want a franchise player. And for now, I don't think Winslow will ever be good enough offensively to become that guy.
I could be wrong, though. Maybe Winslow's offense will improve, but for now I really think the Knicks shouldn't take him on draft night.
His work ethic is amazing and it's unfair to write him off as a player already, though. Players do improve over time.
Only time will tell.
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Willie Cauley-Stein, C, Kentucky
Vitals and Measurements : 21 years old, 7-foot-1 with shoes, 242 lbs, 7-foot-3 wingspan
2014–15 Stats: 8.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.7 BPG, 48 FG%, 25.9 MPG
There's not much you can really say about Willie Cauley-Stein as a prospect.
Most teams know what they're getting with him: an athletic big man that defends great and isn't focused on offense at all. A lot of big men in the NBA are like Cauley-Stein: big men that can run the floor, rebound and defend.
A player that come to my mind in comparisons for WCS is DeAndre Jordan.
"The potential's there for him to be one of the two or three best players in the draft. The potential's also there for him to be Larry Sanders. From day to day, we keep going back and forth between the two," one NBA GM said recently.
I'd be extremely shocked if the Knicks drafted Stein No. 4 overall, because I don't think he's a future star. There's also a good free agent market for centers in the off-season.
I wouldn't be surprised to hear some rumbling about New York trading down in the draft for him either. He could still be on the board when the Sacramento Kings draft.
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What do you think? Who should the Knicks do at No. 4?
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