by Michael Naclerio

Here at KnicksTweets we’ve deemed it unnecessary to develop another run of the mill mock draft in anticipation of today’s draft. Instead we think it’s more productive to analyze each of the most  respectable sites and their respective mock drafts. At least the lottery picks that is, and your beloved Knicks too of course, don’t fret. Hey, we’ll even throw in who we think that team should draft to fit their roster, not that they’ll actually do it.

Included in this analysis will be ESPN, NBAdraft.net, HoopsHype, HoopsWorld, and DraftExpress. Fox sports get left out because they actually seem to be using the mocks of NBADraft.net and as for CBS sports they simply can’t seem to make decisions, 5 mocks is far too many for any one site. (more…)

by Michael Naclerio

Amidst the whirlwind that is the Knicks front office right now, the CBA negotiation and an offseason that requires a number of holes to be filled we contemplate the upcoming draft. Although Donnie Walsh will not be signing back on as Knicks President of Basketball Operations, he will remain with the team as a consultant through the next season and will still contribute to selecting the Knicks upcoming 17th pick in the NBA draft this Thursday. Although Donnie’s involvement may slightly ease the minds of the Knicks fans (as long as the player the Knicks choose does not rhyme with Hordan Jill), many are still hungover about why Donnie was let go in the first place. (more…)

There has been a ton of hype surrounding a potential Carmelo Anthony deal to Nets, but perhaps it is all just chatter.

Alan Hahn’s offers this Nugget (pun intended) in his latest Knicks Fix:

“Meanwhile, from what I’m told by informed people, the Nuggets are almost certain to hold on to Carmelo until we’re a lot closer to the Feb. 24 trade deadline. The Nets may be furiously putting together packages and plans and the Nuggets may be enamored with the idea of collecting a plethora of first round picks, but they also aren’t in any hurry to make even that trade. (more…)

Part 2 of KnicksTweets’ chat with Jon Rothstein. As an NCAA basketball and NBA draft expert, Rothstein gives us some insight into two of the Knicks’ rookies, Andy Rautins and Landry Fields.

KNICKSTWEETS:  In mid-July though, right when Las Vegas Summer League play was first beginning, you offered a synopsis on the Knicks rookie additions. With the Summer League now completed, has your opinion at all changed on the rooks?

JON ROTHSTEIN: No, I think they are what they are. If the Knicks are probably going to be a team that wins between 43 and 46 games, like everybody hopes they will, rookies, and especially rookies that are picked in the second round, you probably hope don’t play that much.

So as far as Andy Rautins, I think that he’s a better passer than people realize and he’s better at separating from his defender than people give him credit for. He reminds me of (more…)

Via NY Post’s Starberman:

“He’s a lot better player than people think he is,” (Jim) Boeheim told The Post. “I’d like to say he’s just a great shooter, which he is, but he can do other things — pass and defend.”

“You look at the first round and there’s so many teams drafting young guys on potential,” Boeheim said. “They could be good. But then you find out they never get to be good. Andy’s ready to play now.

“Guys that work hard get better, like [Michael] Jordan,” Boeheim added. “Guys that don’t work hard don’t get better. Andy works hard and will get better like David Lee did. People missed the boat on Lee. Andy’s a workaholic.”

Boeheim has spent three summers with Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni as an assistant on Team USA.

“He’s a great offensive coach, one of the best I’ve seen,” Boeheim said. “A lot of Mike’s offense depends on making perimeter shots, and he can do that. It’s a good fit for the Knicks.”

Nice comments here, and hopeful that Andy Rautins was overlooked by the rest of the NBA, but would  Jim Boeheim really say anything other than this?  Always ground-breaking journalism from Marc Berman.  Although we do applaud him for bringing Knicks fan this as opposed to the nonsense from mainstream media.

June 28, 2008

June 28, 2005

The Knicks draft David Lee #30 overall (Nate Robinson #21 & Channing Frye #8)

Will all 3 be but a distant memory soon?

Wanted to pass along this Slam Online Interview with Landry Fields (@landryfields on Twitter) from April:

SLAM: What part of your game do you need to improve the most?
LF: I think knocking down a consistent jumper. At times, my shot can get a little flat but when I get it up, I’m a pretty decent shooter. So just a consistent jumper and knocking it down. And continue to stay low in ball handling. Obviously, my conditioning and agility because that will be key when it comes to traveling and working out for teams.

SLAM: Do you see yourself as a shooting guard or a small forward in the NBA?
LF: I see myself as a small forward.

SLAM: If a team asks you what you can do to help them, what are you going to say?
LF: Well, that can depend on the team. If I knew I was going to go on an interview with somebody, I’d probably take a closer look at a team and get a feel for what they like to do. I’d tell them how I can contribute in their system and even outside of the system, I’m the type of player willing to do anything for a team. Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do that. Whatever they ask of me, I’ll do that plus take it to the next level. It’s the kind of player I am and the kind of character I have.

SLAM: What part of your game are you most confident about right now?
LF: I think my ability to create for myself. It’s something I had to do a lot this year. Also, just intangibles, playing hard, having that will to win. I like where my game is at right now. I think I do everything pretty well.

Read the whole article here

Knicks fans want it, but does the organization understand what it takes? Trying to convince its fan base and free agent prospects that the 2nd round picks, a SG and SF are part of the plan to surround the team with the right kind of players (for D’Antoni’s system).

For the second straight year the Knicks did not draft for need: a PG or C, which consequently free agency lacks.   Sure LeBron could play the point forward and Bosh could attempt to play C, in our wishful thinking scenario, but can’t shake the feeling that we missed.

With players like Jarvis Varnado, Willie Warren, Lance Stephenson, and Solomon Alibi sitting on the board staring at the Knicks, they went Rautins and Fields.  We will reserve judgment regarding the wherewithal of these two, who each offer some solid attributes.

Not saying at the end of the day Donnie Walsh won’t get it done….there are plenty of ways besides free agency to build a team, given the Knicks flexibility. But boy did the Bulls and Heat, two of the Knicks hated rivals, put themselves in an advantageous position for free agency. Gonna be interesting and hopefully not disappointing for Knicks fans.

Luckily a number of players did not get drafted including Duke’s C Brian Zoubek & Villanova’s PG Scottie Reynolds. Like to think the Knicks will invite these two to summer league, amongst others including: Sherron Collins, Manny Harris, Matt Bouldin, Jon Scheyer, Samardo Samuels, Tyler Smith, Raymar Morgan, Deon Thompson, and Wayne Chism.

Donnie Walsh not too concerned about the fact that the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat bettered themselves financially for the free agency run.

Just to recap yesterday’s events via ESPN:

Chicago agreed to deal Kirk Hinrich and a No. 1 pick to Washington to move approximately $33 million below the salary cap — enough money to sign two max-salary free agents.

Miami cleared $3.3 million in additional cap room by trading a No. 1 pick and Daequan Cook, and now has enough room to re-sign Dwyane Wade, add another max salary free agent and still have $10-11 million of leftover spending money.

And what does Donnie Walsh think of all this?

“The situation in Miami is a little different than us. To analyze it and say, ‘Well, now they’ve got a lot more cap room,’ yeah, they do. But if they’re wanting to sign some of their own players, then that would lessen it,” Walsh said, adding that he believes the Heat cleared the additional room as a way to retain free agent Udonis Haslem. “As far as Chicago, they’ve got more cap money than they had. There’s no doubt about that.”

“I’m going to make an assumption that nobody’s playing around out there, the players or us. If they’re going to meet with you and you’re going to meet with them, then you’re serious — and that’s how I’m going to treat it. I’m not going to say one guy’s more important than the other, but you can probably only do one guy a day,” Walsh said.

“I want to get it on, I want to see the franchise step up and be competitive, step up and be more than competitive. It’s been a difficult two years for me,” Walsh said. “But you have to live through some tough times to get to where you’re rebuilding your franchise. How well and how fast we can rebuild the team can be shortcut by getting great players. If it’s not that way, then we’ll do it another way. But we’re in a better position than we were two years ago.”