Ford: 80% Knicks Get Harden?

by Ben Kopelman on June 25th, 2009 at 9:12 am

As if the buzz weren’t swirling fast enough, Chad Ford drops his latest mock and has the Knicks selecting James Harden with the 8th selection. Addressing the pick, Ford has the following to say:

“Confidence level: 80 percent

“Analysis: The Knicks will be disappointed if Curry, Rubio, Hill and Evans are all off the board. But they’ll still be relieved to find Harden here. The Knicks believe the draft is seven players deep and Harden is one of those seven.

“If Harden is snatched up by the Thunder or the Timberwolves, they look at Jrue Holiday, Brandon Jennings, DeMar DeRozan and Gerald Henderson. I think they will prioritize point guard and Holiday has a very slim lead over Jennings.”

This is just nutty at this point.  A few quick reactions…

  • A guy who has remained in the top 5 of almost every other mock to date, Ford all of a sudden has him sliding all the way to 8 — on the day of the draft.
  • Of all the other picks he projects, he only assigns a higher confidence rating to one pick (Griffin to the Clips, at 99.9%) — what makes him so confident??
  • Harden would be a dream pick for me.  Despite getting caught up in all the Curry talks, Harden is a top 5 talent in this draft and if he were somehow to slip to the Knicks…lordez gomez that’d be a steal.
  • Cheech

    How could this be possible???
    We definately need a shooting guard as well as a point and a center.
    I was disapointed to see that harden didnt do to much in the tournament….
    Isnt he more of a half court 2 guard. Like a more methodical Michael Redd???

    Would he really be a good fit?

  • Magik_Trick

    I dont see Minnesota passing on him..especially since there trying to rebuild there backcourt..

    But Chad Ford gets alot of inside information, and 80% is quite high..so i believe he knows something..

    And why arent we considering Jonny Flynn..hes a better player than Jrue Holiday and Brandon Jennings right now..

    and how much does it suck that this draft is “7 players deep” and we have number 8 LOL

  • slambam

    I think the percentages are if they would pick Harden if he were available, so people shouldn’t get too excited. But the fact that Ford has him dropping is the exciting part, not the 80 %, because if he were to drop then of course we are going to take him

  • Ben Kopelman

    agreed on harden to minny…ford has them taking evans and flynn, but my guess is if curry is gone they go harden and evans, leaving us with flynn.

  • EQ1217

    On Espn.com it says that the Bobcats would like to trade up. I wonder if Harden was there at 8 would the Bobcats would consider trading Augustin and the 12th pick to move up & get Harden.

    Probably seems like a lot, but you never know.

  • joetheknick

    harden has been slated as the 3 or 5 pick for months. hard to believe we could be so lucky. Go knicks.

  • Lebron-Wade 2010

    espn reports that the mephis grizzlies will not trade the number two pick and they will take hasheem thabeet. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4284494

  • the oak

    This draft will come down to one pick for the knicks…The Kings. There are 7 players the Knicks feel really comfortable taking. If The Kings pick Flynn, the Knicks are set. If they pick Evans, The Knicks will get 2nd options such as Henderson or Holiday

  • Cheech

    I agree. Flynn to sactown would be huge for us.

  • Tcarda44

    thats an interesting possibility since they do have a glut at PG. then maybe the knicks take T-Will at 12. id like this move. Also i think Harden is extremely over-rated but that is apparently just me. I saw him in person in the NCAA tournament vs Syracuse and he was wildly unimpressive. A player of that stature should, at some point, take a game over and bring his team back into it. He never did, and the only time ariz st ever challenged was bc there Euro forward was unconscious from deep. I know hes a “brandon roy, pierce” type player, but i dont think he will ever live up to that

  • Lebron-Wade 2010

    looks like rubio is headed to OKC , According to ESPN, OKC employed a lawyer in Spain to help expedite the Rubio buyout. Hmmm…

  • Magik_Trick

    So, basically the first 3 picks are set in stone..
    Sacramento is gonna decide between Flynn, Evans, and Curry..

  • KBT1615

    So did Sac Town and Minny

  • KBT1615

    I think they would try to trade Boris or Raja first.

  • levy858

    Ben, the reason Chad Ford, as well as most experts would not like that combination is because both are not point guards. Why would the T-Wolves take two 2guards back to back? That is why he has Flynn in there.

  • Lebron-Wade 2010

    it doesnt matter that much that sac town and minny did it also becuase OKC is ahead of both of them.

  • Mucha

    Paul Pierce unexpectedly slipped in 1998, Brandon Roy unexpectedly slipped in 2006, maybe that’ll happen again with James Harden – who reminds me a lot of Paul Pierce and little bit of Brandon Roy. But I think either the Thunder or the Timberwolves will pick him.

    Like I said, Harden is a FLAT-OUT STUD and he’s the SECOND BEST prospect in this draft in my opinion.

    Here’s my wishlist :

    1. Tyreke Evans
    2. Stephen Curry
    3. James Harden
    4. Ricky Rubio

  • Aten

    Griffin
    Thabeet
    Rubio
    Evans
    Curry
    Harden
    Hill

    Not good.

  • KBT1615

    Just saying that OKC is probably doing their due dilligence like Sac Town and Minny.

  • Mucha

    Exactly. We get a star if the Sacramento Kings select Johnny Flynn.

  • joetheknick

    that gives us flynn, holiday or derozan? I thought Min wanted Flynn?

  • Aten

    I don’t think either Sacramento or Minnesota will take Flynn over Curry. I think our best chance is Sacramento taking Curry, leaving us Harden or more likely Evans because Minnesota probably wouldn’t take both.

  • Mucha

    Why not?

    Evans would play with the ball in his hands and Curry loves to play off the ball. Curry is 6’3, he would be a PG on the defensive end and Tyreke Evans could guard 2′s. It’s a perfect fit in my opinion.

  • Aten

    Yes, that would make sense, but it isn’t what I said and would only matter anyway if Sacramento took Harden. Harden/Evans wouldn’t be bad for Minnesota if Sacramento takes Curry, but one of them with Flynn might be better and is probably our best chance of getting one of the seven.

  • Tcarda44

    What makes you think Flynn wont be a star? I dont get why everyone is so worried we might be stuck with Flynn. If 6 feet is too short then why is Tony Parker effective? Flynn is more athletic and a better shooter than parker, and i believe will be a very good defensive player.

  • chrisdudley

    i trust chad ford, i think he is the most informed nba insider… if the knicks land james harden… that would be a blessing.