Knicks Lottery Report

Last night's NBA Draft Lottery presented the New York Knicks with a huge opportunity to turn the struggling franchise around in one day. Yet what started out as a dream of game changing talent and giant steps in the right direction turned into a nightmare of lucky old rivals, bouncing ping pong balls and the certainty, that the way to the top of the league will be a long and winding road. And there will be bumps on this road which is hopefully leading the Knicks out of the abysses where former GM and head coach Isiah Thomas left them.

The Knicks ended up with the 6th pick in the upocoming NBA Draft (June 26th) and weren't quite as lucky as 24 years ago, when the first overall pick fell into their hands and turned into Patrick Ewing. With point guard Derrick Rose and forward Michael Beasley being the two top prospects in the draft, the lottery seemed to have two clear cut prizes, just like last year with Kevin Durant and Greg Oden. Even though the Knicks only had a chance of less than 8% to land the top pick, the hope around Gotham was huge. In the end, a team with an even slighter chance, the Chicago Bulls came away as the Lottery winners. Another old Knicks rival, the Miami Heat, got rewarded for tanking their recent season and will select second in June.

Knicks GM Donnie Walsh and new head coach Mike D'Antoni will face a much tougher task with the sixth pick as opposed with one of the two top picks. The lower you go down in the draft order, usually the less obvious the choices become. "Well, now we finally know where we are and our work really starts." said an upbeat Walsh who is also considering to trade the pick. "Yeah, we definitely look at everything out there. Maybe there will be a trade or we could move down. There are a lot of options and we will look to do what's best for the Knicks. No matter how you put it, the pick is an asset and we are looking forward to use it."
Mike D'Antoni was also feeling quite good about the situation the Knicks are in with their draft choice. "You can always get talented players, even in the second round", said the former coach of the Phoenix Suns. "I think there are a lot of good basketball players out there. Now we have to look at everything and make the right pick." Asked about the skills he is looking for in players, D'Antoni gave an answer that really isn't describing many current Knicks: "I try to look if a player has a feel for the game. You always want to have complete players who can shoot, pass, rebound and do other things out there. Otherwise you have a problem." Interestingly, that's just the problem he will face with a roster full of one dimensional players and guys who lack a true feel for the game. But I'm sure D'Antoni knew that before, just like he knew that this Knicks job won't be a walk in Central Park. With a little luck yesterday the whole process of rebuilding the once proud franchise might have become a lot easier. But just as both Walsh and D'Antoni mentioned yesterday, they know where they are and they have to make a good pick. What's done is done and there only one way... forward.

Who could the Knicks target at #6?

Of course D'Antoni and Walsh didn't give any names or directions where they might head with the sixth pick. They will go through the normal evaluation process to figure out who their selection will be. But knowing D'Antoni's approach to the game and the available players, there might be some guys who might fit a little better than others.

D'Antoni was paired with Steve Nash in Phoenix and made it known many many times that he loved his point guard as a player. He kind of lived that uptempo style and smart play that D'Antoni likes to see from his players. With no real point guard on the current roster, the Knicks might very well target a floor general in the Draft. One truly could remind D'Antoni of Steve Nash. D.J. Augustine from Texas is a fan of the two time MVP himself and he also visited his summer camp last year. "He's a terrific young player," Nash said after watching the young Augustin last summer. "He's a very good shooter and has a great feel as a point guard. He seems unflappable and has a lot of confidence. He's got a bright future ahead of him." Nash is right, Augustin is a terrific point guard in any shape or form. He has the mindset of a floor general and is a natural leader on and off the court. At 20 years of age he is still in the middle of his development process and you can already see some similarities to Nash in how he slices through the defense or finishes in traffic. He doesn't have the greatest size at 5-11 and can become a little inconsistent with his shot, yet Augustin could be the smart, true floor leader the Knicks lack for many many years.

Another strong possibility might be Darrell Arthur from the Kansas Jayhawks. The 6-9 power forward won the National Championship with KU and would be the perfect fit for D'Antoni's uptempo game. Ultra athletic and quick, Arthur possesses a great skillset in the low and high post and he can get up and down with the best of them. He was inconsistent throughout his career in Lawrence, but there is no denying of his talent. He also brings these certain NBA skills to the table that are required on the next level. He is a great athlete and has decent size (even though he's a little skinny, he already has bulked up since his freshman year), unlike some of the other top big man prospects. Now both Augustin and especially Arthur seem like stretches at number 6 overall. But there's always the possibility of a trade on Draft day and the draft boards will certainly change in the next few weeks. And if you really like a player, then there isn't truly a wrong spot to take him.
One of the elite talents that might drop is O.J. Mayo. Being hyped big time since his high school days, the 6-5 combo guard hasn't exactly lived up to all the expectations surrounding him. That doesn't mean though that he isn't a terrific player with his NBA ready body and outstanding jumper. With rumors about NCAA rule violations and some bad reputation in high school, Mayo could very well be there at number six and it's hard to imagine the Knicks would pass up a player like him. Whoever the pick will be, I'm confident that Mike D'Antoni and Donnie Walsh will have their reasons for the choice. And right now all you can do is trust these two guys and their track records.

Knicks Land Mike D'Antoni

As the summer comes along and the sun treats us with it's warm and shining light, the atmosphere around Madison Square Garden is getting better by the day. Yesterday wasn't just another day of evaluation for Donnie Walsh, the new boss of the New York Knicks. He added another piece to the puzzle of rebuilding the once so proud franchise and man, what an important piece it can be. The Knicks signed former Phoenix Suns head coach Mike D'Antoni to a four year deal worth 24 million dollars and gave him the tough assignment to turn the struggling mess of a team around. Of course there were other names in the mix like former Knicks point guard Mark Jackson but the final decision fell on D'Antoni, who grew restless in Phoenix after a recent first round exit and some inner house struggles with general manager Steve Kerr. It would be easy to praise the signing just because the former point guard after all isn't Isiah Thomas, the man who is responsible for many of the Knicks' problems today. But that approach would not only be too easy, it's would also sell the new man on the bench short. In Mike D'Antoni the Knicks land an excellent head coach with an even more excellent knowledge of the game of basketball.

D'Antoni has spend many many years overseas, first as a player and then as a coach. He won numerous titles in Italy and along the way, he developed a great understanding and a brighter approach to the game of basketball which helped him tremendously in his recent stint with the Phoenix Suns. His winning ways also continued in the desert after he formed an offensive powerhouse around two time MVP Steve Nash.
Even though he won over 250 games with the Suns and reaching the Conference Finals in consecutive years, many people are critical of D'Antoni time in Phoenix, especially in the States. His style of a team oriented, fast paced game isn't known to be very successful in the playoffs. Well, he didn't reach the Finals but you hardly can call "Mike D" unsuccessful in postseason play. Another often mentioned misconception about D'Antoni's teams is that they don't play any defense. First of all a faster pace also gives the opponent more opportunities to score. Then, you can't overlook that D'Antoni coached some very poor defenders in Phoenix like Steve Nash or a young Amare Stoudemire (who actually developed really nice in that department recently). With all the talk of the Suns being soft and horrible defensively, they never finished worse than 16th in the league in opponents' field goal percentage. Where I come from, this is average and not terrible. Without Stoudemire, who missed a big part of the 2005/2006 season due to a knee injury, the Suns even spent a long time in the top five in that certain category. These things give me no reason to believe that D'Antoni will punish his teams for playing both ends of the court.

All records and numbers aside, which in this case are just outstanding for D'Antoni, he is a coach with a system and he knows what he wants. He will give the players a direction and teach them the importance of the team's game. Unselfish, well structured basketball have only been played by visitors in recent years at the Garden. On top of his strategic and on court abilities, D'Antoni is widely regarded as a good character, respectful guy. He will give the team a direction and he will have a plan in place how to turn this Knicks team around. Many people already see the Knicks just running and gunning up and down the court. But nobody knows if this is truly D'Antoni's idea. All we know is that everyhwere he has been, he has been a proven winner and his teams always got better when he arrived (not counting his 50 game stint with the Denver Nuggets in the late 90s). He will work on fundamentals and bring a positive approach to the locker room and to the Knicks organization, something which is desperately needed on a team that has gone through nightmarish experiences in recent years. Sure, D'Antoni has his flaws (please don't whine so much in NYC, Mike) but so has any other coach in the world. In the end and under the current circumstances, with the state of the franchise and the team, the New York Knicks can only be extremely happy that they got a basketball mind like Mike D'Antoni...