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I’ve been a Knick fan all of my life. I’ve been through the best of times, I’ve been through the worst of times. I’ve seen good fans come and I’ve seen good fans go. All of those good fans that went… I’m begging you, please come back. Last night’s display of fanhood at the NBA Draft was close to sickening, and for the first time in my life, I found myself doubting the credibility of the Knicks fan base.
Now please don’t get me wrong, I’m fully aware that the people who attend the NBA draft, the feeble-minded callers on ESPN radio or WFAN and the 13-year-old message board posters don’t represent the entire Knick fan base, but if that’s all the rest of the country is seeing, reading or hearing from our fanbase, then… yikes.
Last night, I saw a 19-year-old Italian kid who has more potential than any current Knick or any draftee available at the time get booed on and off the stage after Donnie Walsh made him the 6th pick in the Draft. People have opinions. I have one, you have one. You probably think mine sucks, I probably think yours sucks. But if you’re going to have an opinion, you better have some reason for it.
I’ll keep this short and sweet. Mike D’Antoni has done nothing but win and he knows foreign players better than any coach in this league. Donnie Walsh built the teams that beat our beloved 90s Knicks. Analysts and scouts love the kid and touted him as the best player in Europe this year. ESPN even gave the Knicks an A- for the pick… something proven to be hard for ESPN to do.
But the people who represented the Knicks fanbase at the WaMu Theatre last night know better, right?
The same people who turned to me and said, word for word: “well we just drafted the next Bargnani.” The same people who thought David Lee’s first name was Jason. The same people who don’t know the Collective Bargaining Agreement exist and continued to propose impossible deals to each other all night. The same people who thought Gus Johnson was Mark Jackson.
Gallinari is the polar opposite of Bargnani, Jason Lee is in “My Name is Earl”, any Knick fan who survived the Isiah Thomas era should know the CBA exists and seriously… how could Mark Jackson be on the stage on TV and in the lobby talking to fans at the same time?
My point is, there is no reason Danilo Gallinari should have been booed last night simply because people don’t know anything about him. If you refer to him as “the Italian kid” then that means you haven’t watched a single clip of him or paid attention to anything the past two months. The constitutes you as not being able to have an opinion. I’m not one to limit speech — I worked on the Howard Stern/Scott Ferrall shows — but please, for your own sake, just keep your lip zipped.
So now the rest of the NBA fanbase thinks the Knicks fans hate their pick. Does the Knicks management REALLY need something else on their plates? In reality, this was the best, most logical pick the Knicks could have made last night. But the same fans who want to tank already for Ricky Rubio next year disagree. Incase you don’t know, Rubio is a 20-year-old point guard from Spain expected to enter the draft next year. I’m sure those same fans have seen just as much of Rubio as they have Gallinari… none.
Read some articles, watch some videos, listen to some interviews. For the rest of the fanbase’s sake.
Well said. I don’t think there is anything Danilo can’t do offensively.
Bayless
Absolutely correct. I think D’Antoni hit it on the head last night when being interviewed with MSG, “You got 10 different groups of people wanting 10 different guys. Once we pick one person, 90% of everybody else is going to be unhappy. The only time everyone is happy is when you have one of the top two picks.”
Check the SNY footage, you’ll see me clapping with the Gallinari pick (granted I talked myself into it before I came to Butterfield 8 and had a few in me, but nonetheless). People are afraid of what they don’t understand or don’t know. Nobody knows how the Euroleagues work, nobody knows the international game so the immediate response is, “The Italian kid” or “Some Euro.” For every Bargnani there’s Nowitzki, Ginobli, Parker, Stojakovic, Kukoc, Sabonis, Divac and countless other good European players. Basketball fans exhibit the worst xenophobia of any of the major sports. In hockey, foreign players are highly sought after, in baseball again sought after, and in football it’s really non-existant. It’s only in basketball that people are so fearful.
I’ve only seen one player be booed on opening night and that was when we traded for Keith Van Horn. There’s no reason Gallinari should be treated the same way. He’s tough, he knows what he’s got to do, and Van Gundy said it best, “Knicks fan appreciate hard work and they’ll see it from Gallinari.”
Lastly, a thought that crossed my mind multiple times today…..why not? This team nearly lost 60 games in consecutive seasons. The former GM and coach has done near irreperable damage to this franchise, its roster, and its fan base. Why not? You aren’t going to draft Gordon or Bayless and try to turn them into PGs when they aren’t. Those that had pipe-dreams for Augustin don’t realize he’s just not that good to go #6 and will likely be a career backup. At that position with Westbrook and Mayo gone, why not?
[...] We don’t usually deal in short posts, but when something someone else writes perfectly sums up our thoughts, we feel linking to it is better than rehashing the same points in our own words. Thus, please enjoy this commentary on the events that transpired at the WaMu Theatre last night, courtesy of The Knicks Blog. [...]
Steve, where do you get off? Jason Lee is in “My Name is Earl”? This guy has a much broader body of work, don’t just lump him into one role.
Ah, you’re right, I stand corrected on Jason Lee. He was also the voice of Underdog in the 2007 hit movie with the same title.
Nice piece except Rubio WILL BE 18 on OCtober 21 2008
He’s been playing Pro ball in Spain since a week before his 15th birthday.
pretty incredible.
I stand corrected. That makes it even MORE ridiculous that people are ready to tank a season for this kid, but they’ll boo the Gallinari pick.
Well said. Opinions are great, but it the fans’ responsibility to have educated ones. As long as its an educated opinion its a valid one. I understand that some people aren’t totally educated about Gallinari, which is fine. However, don’t have an extreme reaction when you aren’t educated.
The weird thing in all of this is that, while I liked the pick, I think I like Gallinari even more now that people booed him. Obviously I want him to be as good as possible, but I think theres a little something extra now. I can get behind this kid from a personal level almost because he got booed for no reason on draft night. Its kind of a “go show em how good you are” kind of thing I guess.