The NBA Draft is an exercise that engenders hope, intrigue, rumors and flat-out lies. Some fans have optimistic visions of their team acquiring a high impact player while others have little faith that their franchise’s shot callers possess the competence or creativity to design a playoff or championship contender.
The latter has been the prevailing sentiment of die-hard Knicks supporters for the past two decades. The current regime, led by team president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry, endeavors to change that perception beginning this evening when the draft is held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Tonight is the duo’s first draft since assuming their present positions last summer.
The Knicks were 29-53 a season ago, one game ahead of the last place Brooklyn Nets in the Atlantic Division and 11th in the 15-team Eastern Conference. After forward Kristaps Porzingis went down with a torn ACL in his left knee last Feb. 6, the Knicks won only six more games. It illuminated their dearth of talent and a need to significantly upgrade their roster.
The Knicks’ selection of then 18-year-old guard Frank Ntilikina from France last June with their No. 8 pick was engineered by former team president Phil Jackson. Although opinions on Ntilikina are mixed after a rookie season that produced averages of 5.9 points and 3.2 assists in 78 games played, his skill set tracks that he is a potential elite defender and capable scorer. Furthermore, at a long 6-foot-5, he compares favorably to a young Jrue Holiday, now with the New Orleans Pelicans.
If the Knicks hold on to the No. 9 overall pick, they should have the option of taking Alabama’s dynamic 6-foot-3 guard Colin Sexton, Kentucky’s 6-foot-9 high ceiling small forward Kevin Knox or Villanova’s versatile 6-foot-7 wing player Malik Bridges. Both Sexton and Knox played only one season of college basketball while Bridges declared for the draft following his junior season.
If priority is driving Mills and Perry’s decision, the small forward position is their most glaring hole. If that is indeed the case, then Knox’s potential is too enticing to pass up. Yet Sexton could turn out to be the 2018 version of White Plains, New York’s Donovan Mitchell, the sensational guard drafted No. 13 by the Utah Jazz out of Louisville a year ago who emerged as a budding superstar in his rookie campaign.