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Read: Jennings Would Have Locked Lebron Up, or something like that

by Tommy Dee on November 20th, 2009 at 9:51 am

Via Yahoo:

“…A Jennings-James combo is one to dream about. Imagine the lightning quick, pure point guard LeBron has always needed. Imagine the same player having such a deft shooting stroke – honed during 1,000-shot-per-day sessions before and after practice in Europe – that he can then wait for kick-out passes when James barrels down the lane.

Most of all, imagine the dose of credibility the pick would’ve given the Knicks’ new regime. Yes, we inherited a mess, they could argue. Yes, we still have ways to go, but look at our talent evaluation. We just plucked the Rookie of the Year off an Italian practice squad.

Knicks fans would be beside themselves with the Jennings show, MSG rocking nightly. Nothing charges that city up like a young, breathless talent.

“I didn’t have a good feel for his game,” Walsh told the New York Post. “I went to Europe to see him at a draft camp and he didn’t show. We brought him in here and the situation is not running up and down, five-on-five. So going into the draft, I didn’t get a good feeling.”

At least Donnie Walsh is honest. It’s still his fault.

He had scouts in Europe and some of them, sources say, lobbied hard for Jennings. He could’ve made repeated trips. They brought the kid in twice for workouts.

In a draft as weak as last season’s, with the Knicks in such a critical need of talent and so much riding on the choice, there isn’t an excuse for not seeing what Milwaukee and its fraction of a scouting budget saw.

New York didn’t just blow its shot at the NBA’s next great point guard last June. They may have blown their shot at LeBron James…”

No one can deny that passing on Jennings, at this point, was a poor decision by, 9 NBA general managers. The Clippers should have taken him first overall. I mean, how could they take Blake Griffin? How could they not see that he was going to get hurt? Hasheem Thabeet?? Brutal James Harden? Eesh.

How about Minnesota??!! They took TWO point guards and got BOTH wrong!! Let’s face it, Stephen Curry is a project. He’s going to take years to get stronger.

Or maybe you can’t judge a players career in 2 months.

Listen, the Knicks would be better with Brandon Jennings today. But to think that it could cost them a chance at Lebron is a bit misguided. Is he ready to be on the same level as Chris Paul, Nash and Deron Williams? Maybe, but come on, he’s not there yet.  Let’s see what happens when Michael Redd‘s 20-plus shots factor into the mix.

I’m sure that Lebron would love to play with Jennings, but  if you actually WATCH the Cavs Lebron IS the point guard at the end of games. HE makes the decisions in the half court.

I just wonder if this writer would have written a story saying “Jennings could bring Lebron TO New York” if the team actually drafted him.

My guess is no.

And by the way, the win against Denver was a great effort, and you can never take 55 points away, but remember this about the Bucks first nine games, their 6 wins, including the Nuggs are against teams with a combined record of 19-50.

With all this said, the team should start playing Jordan Hill, but they are going to continue to showcase Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries.

Making the decision not to draft Jennings look that much more foolish.
  • DanL

    GET OVER IT. YOU CANT CHANGE IT. OR JUST KEEP COMPLAINING. EVERYONE LIKES A COMPLAINER.

  • DanL

    fyi Tommy, that obviously was not addressed at you.

  • Dylan

    Alan Hanh just reported that the Knicks are not going to sign A.I.!
    http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/the-knicks-fix-1.812055
    It seemed like a no brainer to me, but I guess this pathetic franchise doesn’t give a %$&# about its fans and would rather continue losing with Duhon at PG…

  • EQ1217

    like DanL said there’s no need to cry over spill milk, specially after the 55 pt performance.

    However, Out of the top 9 the Knicks are the only team that drafted a player it did not need or want & that’s why the media is bashing the Knicks.

    Clips have do draft Blake
    Griz are still invested in Conley
    OKC had Westbrook
    Sacto got Evans
    wolves – Flynn is avg 14pts
    wolves – Rubio is trade bait
    GSW – Curry has played well

    Probably only the Griz can really say they should had drafted Jennings

  • joetheknick

    Little late for Jennings. Would anyone be in favor of trading Chris Duhon for Raymond Felton? Each could use a change of scenery??

  • Knicks4life

    Sarcasm noted. But the LAC and Memphis didn’t need a PG. Jennings wouldn’t have fit in Sac next to Martin. But the Knicks desperately need and needed a PG and drafted another forward.

    Not sure what all the irrational hatred is for Jennings. The Bucks were terrible last year and are respectable this year without their best player. Can’t deny that Jennings has been the best prospect in the draft thus far and he, Redd, and Bogut form a great nucleus going forward. Its ok to admit management screwed this one up.

    Its ok.

  • donnie walsh

    I hate the defense that 8 other teams didn’t draft him so you can’t blame donnie. Different teams have different needs and different agendas. Its such a half hearted defense. We can’t hold the Wolves or Clippers GM accountable, we can hold our GM accountable. Sometimes it feels like these posts are written in the Knicks front office.

    There is a logjam in the frontcourt and Jordan Hill won’t see the light of day this year. If he starts playing well in 2011 it simply doesn’t matter, because the 2010 free agents need to see a young and talented supporting cast now, not later.

  • DanL

    Everyone should have drafted Jennings. They would have turned all these teams into winners. I think the only teams you can’t fault are the Clippers and the Thunder. All the point guards drafted ahead of him are worse or are not franchise changing point guards the way he is right? So they should have all drafted him instead of the guys they drafted. Ignoring his ish talking, scouting event skipping, pre-draft personality test flubbing ways.

    I mean, what you are saying is the same as giving the Blazers a pass on drafting Jordan because they had Drexler. Should they have drafted Jordan? In hindsight, yes.

  • donnie walsh

    PREACH

  • Its The Kid

    Oh, so I should gain some solace in the fact that we were just as dumb as a few other teams… Great, thanks… I feel much better now that we are just as futile as the worst teams in the NBA… Wouldnt it have been nice to be the smart ones for once… To be the team that wasnt dumb… Excuse me if I dont give a damn what 9 other teams didnt do…

  • itzyung1

    BUT if Jennings is this ROY that every one on this board keeps saying then every one got it wrong except OKC.

  • Knicks4life

    The Grizz should have traded that pick and gotten a veteran big man like Boozer or Okafur. Instead they used precious cap space on Zach Randolph. That is the only thing I criticize the Grizz for. They didn’t need a PG after picking Connely so high and they are trying to let him develop (which is why the Iverson move made no sense to me). Plus if the Connely experiment fails they still have Mayo who I think should be the PG anyway.

  • Ilan

    My problem with the Knicks not taking Jennings has multiple dimensions. In the first place, he was considered a potential lottery choice before going to Europe as an 18 year-old. That kind of talent does not disappear. The knock on him before his decision to go to Europe was maturity. To me, leaving the US and going to a country away from everything you have known along with not speaking the language at 18 and coming out of it well should have alleviated all of those concerns.

    The fact is the Knicks needed a PG. They knew that they would be without a 1st round pick in 2010. Seeing next years free-agent class, it has a couple of PF/C types in Amare and Bosh who are infinitely more likely to leave their current franchises than LeBron or Wade. With Gallinari and Chandler helping to fill out the minutes at PF/SF that would leave few minutes for a player like Jordan Hill even if he begins to develop. Aside from Toney Douglas, the Knicks have little to no talent to develop in the backcourt going forward. Jennings would have solved that problem and still allowed the Knicks to draft an athletic big man like Dante Cunningham later in the draft. I see no long-term solutions in the backcourt for the Knicks because of their botching of the Hill pick. Anything they do will be short-term and it has set back the franchise.

  • BiggieSmalls

    The larger point is that Donnie needed to hone in on a point guard because it was a position of need for the team and the strongest position available in the draft.

    Im not crying over spilt milk but Donnie’s quote that he “didnt have a good feel for BJ’s game” is unacceptable. I know the kid missed a meeting or something.. (havent heard both sides of the story) but the laser like focus needed to be on the 8 or 9 PGs that will come out of the 2009 draft and be in the league long term.

    thats all i have to say about that.

  • Mucha

    Well I think Dan Wetzel is right. Which is sad.

    But it’s over. The only thing Knicks fans can concretely complain about now is Jordan Hill’s playing time (or lack thereof).

    I understand that the Knicks have to showcase Jared Jeffries and Eddy Curry, but Jordan Hill shouldn’t be sitting on the bench because David Lee and Al Harrington are playing. I mean it’s ridiculous.

    By the way, it was not a weak draft. Many special players.

  • DanL

    fyi he didnt do it out of maturity, he did it for money and bc he couldnt get into college. if greed and dumbness is a equivalent to maturity for you, then good for you.

  • Eduardo15

    “He had scouts in Europe and some of them, sources say, lobbied hard for Jennings. He could’ve made repeated trips. They brought the kid in twice for workouts.”

    If that is not incompetence, I don’t know what is.

    I can’t believe how apologetic some people are in here… I really can’t. It is as though we just won some titles in the last 5 years and this is just a short bad stretch.

  • Mucha

    I think the Grizzlies NEEDED a better point guard (Tyreke Evans > Mike Conley), or James Harden with OJ Mayo playing the point.

    I think they did worse than we did.

  • Knicks4life

    I have always and continue to hate this rationale. The Blazers could have played Jordan at SG and Drexler at SF. They drafted Bowie because they thought he was the better player and they were wrong, plain and simple. You draft the best talent available, but if there is not much seperating that talent you draft for need. Jennings was the best talent available. However, his character issues made him a “risky” pick. The Knicks went elsewhere, which would have been fine except they did not take the best talent available OR drat for need which is inexcusable and they did it two years in a row. Actually they have done it ten years in a row but who’s counting.

  • bmathews77

    I agree….give Jordan Hill some more playing time. The kid is not going to do any good sitting on the bench. All it does is make Walsh, D’Antoni and the Knick organization look bad for drafting someone they think is not good enough to play. Heck I’d even like to see the Knicks give some playing time to Marcus Landry. At least that kid will play harder than some of the knuckleheads that get the bulk of playing time.

  • Mucha

    I can understand the “didn’t have a good feel for BJ’s game” argument, but we needed a point guard.

    I think he should have been more active (Jrue Holiday, Wilson Chandler and X for Tyreke Evans?)… or he should have just drafted a PG. I was pro-Holiday.

  • itzyung1

    We can’t miss out on Monta Ellis. Get him here hopefully Curry shows more against The Nets and then the Celtics.

  • Mucha

    I wanted Jrue Holiday and DeJuan Blair with the Lakers pick. I think it would have been a wiser draft but whatever.

    Let’s not forget that Jordan Hill was dominant against Cole Aldrich who will be a top 10 pick next summer.

    But he needs to PLAAAAAAAAAAAAAY.

    Trade David Lee and Al Harrington if he can’t get minutes because these guys are on the floor (no disrespect to Lee and Harrington).

  • bmathews77

    All I gotta say is the Knicks better not lose to the winless Nets….

  • donnie walsh

    Its the NBA, everyone is greedy and stupid

  • NYKat

    Here’s the deal, I’ll agree that it’s quite a stretch to say passing on Jennings hurt us for Lebron… but seriously, Walsh CLEARLY screwed this one up, there is no defending it, let’s be fair here, it would be different if we not clearly in the hunt for a PG but everyone knows we needed a PG this off-season, and Walsh passing on what is quickly becoming one of the best PG’s in the lottery is an undeniable mistake.

  • Knicks4life

    If the Knicks drafted Eddie Curry next year and passed on Chris Paul (version 2.0) people here would say “oh well its over”, “stop crying over spilled milk”, “Eddie Curry has major upside”.

    Seroiusly, at the TKB there is no learning from the past. Incompetence is the name of the game and a 2-9 record means progress. We won our last game so all criticsm must stop.

  • Ernie Grunfeld

    It’s disappointing how the Knicks passed on Jennings but were literally drooling for S.Curry. Let’s face facts… this collective mess all stems from Dolan- not Donnie. Walsh is pretty much handcuffed and can only make decisions based on Dolan’s approval. You see Jimmy “Buffet” Dolan feels threatened around players with “swagger.” He much prefers obedient and humble Negroes like A.Houston, S.Curry, G.Hill. Spree was an anomaly and one that Dolan never wants to revisit. Something having to do with family class values- what a hypocrite! So typical of former alcoholic heir to a billion dollar conglomerate. Dolan’s been rhodium spoon-fed since birth- he doesn’t know what it means to be hungary. As long as he’s calling the shots, you will always have the Bad News Knicks playing at the Garden.

  • Its The Kid

    Oh so its fine for Gallo and Rubio to not go to college and make NBA type money under 18yrs old… But Jennings is dumb and greedy for going the same route… 25pts 5ast 4rbs, Player of the week, 6-3 record with a depleted team that lost CV, Sessions, and has Redd on the injured list…. Looks like he made a smart choice to me…

  • Mucha

    Brandon Jennings was UNDERWHELMING in Roma, let’s be honest.

    He was a risky pick, like Jrue Holiday.

    Jordan Hill was a safer pick talent-wise in my opinion but Donnie Walsh should have taken a deep breath/drafted a point guard.

  • Knicks4life

    I have no problem with letting the kid develop in practice. For some kids like Kwame Brown, throwing them into the fire too quickly kills their confidence.

    Again though that goes to the Knicks draft incompetence. We have been drafting like we are a 50 win team that has the luxury of sitting our top draft picks.

  • donnie walsh

    Whats the plan though? You have wilson chandler, gallinari and jordan hill and are attempting to get Lebron and perhaps one of Amare and Bosh. Where the hell does jordan hill fit? One thing is certain, your not getting a point guard in next years draft.

    If he didn’t like Jennings for some reason, he should’ve traded up for another pg. You cant just settle for a project at a position set at when your main goal is to showcase young talent for a year. Its just terrible planning.

  • Mucha

    True.

  • bmathews77

    Thats what I think too…Walsh and co. went with a safe pick because they missed out on Steph Curry and couldn’t trade for Ricky Rubio. We can talk all we want about how good Brandon Jennings is but we won’t know how good Jordan Hill is until he starts getting some playing time.

  • Knicks4life

    If “Jordan Hill was a safer pick talent-wise” why is he not playing? I’m well aware that you feel he should be, but if that was Walsh and D’Antoni’s rationale, which is your argument, then why is he not playing.

  • Mucha

    I agree.

    Several projects were available (Jordan Hill, Jrue Holiday, Brandon Jennings), they should have filled the void at the point guard position – period. I thought Jordan Hill was NBA-ready, apparently he’s not which is really disappointing.

    No more excuses, Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni have to step up and give Jordan Hill major minutes. He’s talented enough to get 25 minutes per game.

  • Knicks4life

    Dolan signed of on the Marbury trade, brought Curry in, made IT his GM and coach, and brought the notorious drinkers and partyers Chris Duhon and Jordan Hill on the Knicks.

    I don’t think Dolan is a racist. I think he is an idiot.

  • donnie walsh

    I’m not positive what your point is. Mine was that getting at Jennings for playing in Europe as a selfish player is flawed logic. I have no problem with the kid wanting to get payed and see the world, good for him.
    The idea that everybody else in the nba are all-american boys is laughable

  • Eduardo15

    I hear you, Knicks4life.

  • Knicks4life

    You forgot to add in David Lee and Al Harrington, one of which will likely be here next year.

  • donnie walsh

    bmatthews you’ve illustrated the problem perfectly, “we won’t know how good Jordan Hill is until he starts getting some playing time.”
    And we dont know when that will be. They drafted a guy to not play in a year when it is absolutely imperative they have contributing young players. Its mind blowing.

  • Mucha

    He was a safer-pick because he had a great junior season (18-11), Jrue Holiday and Brandon Jennings were the wild cards.

    He’s not playing because we have to showcase Curry and Jeffries, and Donnie Walsh was delusional enough to keep David Lee last season.

  • bmathews77

    Yeah, I don’t like that we’re losing with guys that clearly show they don’t care on the court. If we are going to lose at least let guys like Jordan Hill, Marcus Landry, Toney Douglas get the bulk of the minutes. They’re the one’s that will be there come 2010. Not guys like Larry Hughes…

  • The_Guy

    @ Biggie Smalls – Brandon Jennings didn’t “miss a meeting”. Or he didn’t “blow off an interview” like Tommy likes to say. I explained what happened in another thread. Tommy Dee is in full hater mode. Here it is again.

    Jennings had spent the year in Italy, getting inconsistent playing time. One night he’d play 20 minutes, the next night 5, the next 2 games he wouldn’t play at all.

    Then they tried using him as a SG off the bench, when he was clearly the best passer on the team. Then his coach quit on the team, and the new coach under pressure to win, didn’t want to risk giving the 18 yr old American minutes.

    So all this time, while clearly frustrated, he kept his mouth shut, and spent hrs upon hrs working with his assistant coaches, but he still wouldn’t get regular minutes.

    Around the first week of June, he was homesick, his team had made the playoffs and kept him off the playoff roster. The coach’s reasoning was why keep him and play him if he’s bolting to the NBA? His team signed a free agent and gave him Jennings’ spot on the roster.

    So Jennings had to watch from the bench in street clothes while his team got upset in the first round of the playoffs.

    So when his season finally ended he had a choice. He can stay in Italy for another 2-3 weeks, after already not playing for a while, and play at the Reebok Eurocamp and play against some of the best European prospects in the world, or he can go home to L.A. and start training for the draft, and working out for teams against Jonny Flynn, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, etc.

    He chose to go home. He announced it 2 weeks before the camp was supposed to happen, so it’s not like he didn’t tell anyone he wasn’t going. Oh, and Ricky Rubio did the EXACT SAME THING, but nobody’s talking about that.

    He went home and worked out against his peers in the draft. Ricky Rubio wouldn’t even workout vs. anyone in the draft. And check out the wonderful year Ricky’s having in the Euroleague so far.

    http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=LFW

    Now before anyone says that Jennings didn’t put up good numbers in Europe either, there’s a big difference.

    1) Rubio is the star/featured player on his team. Jennings was a role player/8th man who barely played.

    2) Rubio’s been playing the style of play they play in Europe all his life. Jennings had a MUCH bigger adjustment to make last year. Different rules, language, culture, tempo, etc.

    So let’s not get the facts twisted folks. The Knicks f’d up. But what else is new?

  • Its The Kid

    I agree with you, I was responding to DanL… Why is a player greedy and dumb for not going to college and gaining money and experience… Why arent overseas player looked at in the same regard… They seem to understand that when you have immense talent in your field at a young age, you forego college and pursue your career…

  • Eduardo15

    Agreed

  • Its The Kid

    Rubio has been playing pro-ball and getting paid for it since he was like 15… Whats the difference is what I’m saying… No one is calling Rubio dumb and greedy…

  • donnie walsh

    Im not sure where the money is to bring back one of those guys if the plan works. Say they get two big free agents, money will be tight. And do al harrington and David Lee seem like the types of guys to take salary cuts?

  • Mucha

    The Knicks should have picked Brandon Jennings, we all know that. It is what it is.

    But just to put things into perspective :

    2008-2009 Jordan Hill : 18.3 points, 11 rebounds, 1.7 blocks per game.

    23 points and 11 rebounds against Cole Aldrich.

    I think Hill can be a really good player but he has to keep his head up. The fact that he’s out of the rotation is DON NELSON-ESQUE.

    It’s CRAZY.

  • bmathews77

    We can say all we want about how the Knicks didn’t pick Brandon Jennings but whats the explanation for the past like 5 years of who we could’ve had! Take a look at all the guys drafted after who the Knicks drafted:

    2005 – Channing Frye (8th pick) – Andrew Bynum, Danny Granger, Brandon Bass, Monta Ellis, Lou Williams, Marcin Gortat

    2006 – Renaldo Balkman (20th) – Rajon Rondo, Paul Milsap, Leon Powe, Marcus Williams, Josh Boone, Jordan Farmar, Sergio Rodriguez, Daniel Gibson,

    2007 – Wilson Chandler (23rd) – Marc Gasol, Rudy Fernandez, Aaron Brooks, Carl Landry, Ramon Sessions, Glen Davis

    2008 – Danillo Gallinari (6th) – Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez, Jason Thompson, Anthony Randolph, Roy Hibbert, Courtney Lee, Mario Chalmers,

    2009 – Jordan Hill (8th) – Brandon Jennings, Jrue Holiday, Ty Lawson, Jeff Teague, Darren Collison, Chase Budinger, Taj Gibson

  • donnie walsh

    I just threw up a little

  • The_Guy

    Let’s go back even further. Remember the year they passed on Amare and Caron Butler? Then PICKED Nen, only to trade him AND MArcus Camby for Antonio McDyess right after he had microfracture surgery! Then to no one’s surprise he missed the entire following season!

    Donnie Walsh needs to hire someone to help with the draft. The last All Star the Knicks drafted was Mark Jackson. One year they had 3 picks.

    18, 19, and 21. They turned out to be John Wallace, Walter McCarty and Donte Jones. Every single one was a bust. Oh and the guy picked at 20 by Cleveland was Zydrunas Igauskas! An All Star!

    I’ve never seen that happen to another franchise. 3 picks almost in a row, and the one guy they missed was an All Star!!

  • The_Guy

    I hear Stevie Wonder is in charge of scouting for the Knicks.

  • pleasepleaseplease

    Thanks man, good read.

  • Big Daddy

    Fans of sports teams run hot and cold on their players and their teams management.

    Some people love the guys, some hate them. Some make excuses for them and some not.

    But the bottom line is most people that work for these teams are incompetent at the highest level. They are mostly proven commodities with a track record and are safe people to hire. You know what you are going to get. Teams keep on hiring Donnie Nelson to coach for instance, why? They know what they are going to get with him, it’s never going to be a championship but it’s a safe pick.

    We did the same thing, neither men although very likable people ever won anything. I like Donnie and Mike, would I have hired them…NO.

    Donnie messed up 2 drafts really bad so far but you can’t tell truly until 3 years for any draft. In his defense he traded some players that were untradeable, but he also traded some players who were good and got back nothing. So far his track record is not very good. His plan is opening up cap space for players who may or may not come here. That is a risky plan considering the fact that the cap went down and we cannot sign 2 max players now unless we dump both Jefferies AND Curry, which is possible.

    I have no confidence in either man bringing us a championship and bringing in Lebron. But they will work here until their contracts are up and hopefully the next GM and coach will be the right ones and we will be competitive again.

    The players who will make us a championship team are right now playing in high school, maybe not even in high school yet….LOL…..think about that. It’s going to be years before we are a winning team again. I have accepted this reality.

  • pleasepleaseplease

    Good drafting is THE KEY to success in every salary cap based sport. Look at the decade of dominance by the Detroit Red Wings in Hockey. They have been on top for all these years because their scouting staff is the best around, they found All Star caliber players in the 4th, 5th and 6th draft round on a regular basis.
    You need to be able to acquiere great talent for a low price – which better way than through the draft?

    With all those early first round pick the Clippers had over the year, you would have thought, these guy should be serious contenders by now – well they are’t because they made poor choices all over the place. (they’re still much better off than the Knicks though)

    Giving away those First round picks like it’s free candy has crippled this organization for years to come. This is a well known fact. So when you finally have a lotto pick you MUST make it count. Donnie Walsh saying, he didn’t have “a feel” for Jennings’ game is unacceptable!

  • NoVaCaInE

    Great stuff…

  • Randy B.

    The Knicks draft futility goes back even further. I wrote an article on this for another site. Look at the names of some of the folks they passed up on or missed out on due to stupid trades since 1974:

    1974: George Gervin- G/F
    1975: Gus Williams- G
    1976: Dennis Williams- G
    1977: Cedric Maxwell- F
    1978: Reggie Theus- SG
    1979: Bill Cartwright- C
    Cliff Robinson- PF
    Bill Laimbeer- PF/C
    1980: Rick Mahorn- PF/C
    Kurt Rambis- PF
    1982: Lafayette Lever- PG
    1983: Clyde Drexler- G/F
    1985: took Patrick Ewing- C
    1986: Ron Harper- SG
    1987: took Mark Jackson- PG
    1988: Brian Shaw- SG
    1990: Elden Campbell- PF/C
    1991: Dale Davis- PF
    1992: Latrell Sprewell- G
    1994: took Monty Williams- SF
    took Charlie Ward- PG
    1996: Zydrunas Ilgauskus- C
    Derek Fisher- G
    Jerome Williams- PF
    1997: Jacque Vaughn- PG
    1998: Brad Miller- PF/C
    1999: Ron Artest- SF
    2000: Michael Redd- SG
    2001: Bobby Simmons- G/SF
    Jarron Collins- C
    2002: Amare Stoudemire- PF
    Matt Barnes- SF
    2003: Josh Howard- G/SF
    Kyle Korver- SG
    2004: Josh Smith- PF
    took Trevor Ariza- SF
    2005: Andrew Bynum- C
    Danny Granger- SF
    2006: Rajon Rondo- PG
    Daniel Gibson- G
    2007: took Wilson Chandler- SF
    2008: Eric Gordon- F
    Chris Douglas-Roberts- G
    2009: Brandon Jennings – PG

  • The_Guy

    LOL there’s alot of All Stars and a couple of Hall of Famers on that list. This franchise is a joke. You forgot to mention Caron Butler the year in ’02 or Brook Lopez or Anthony Randolph as well as Gordon in ’08.

    I don’t think the Knicks had a first rounder in 2004, which is why they drafted Ariza in the second round.

  • The_Guy

    Excellent post Big Daddy.

  • Jack D

    Yeah, imagine if we came out of the draft with Jennings and Blair…

  • Mucha

    Hold on – of course the Knicks scouts are miserable but Gallinari’s a hundred times better than Mario Chalmers and Courtney Lee (it’s easier to look good with Howard, Lewis and Turkoglu isn’t it). Roy Hibbert? The jury’s still out, of course he killed David Lee but I think Gallinari’s just a better player. Jordan Hill is out of the rotation which is ridiculous but he’s better than Collison, Gibson and Budinger…

    I agree with the rest though.

  • DVJ

    How many boxes of tissues did you guys run through so far.
    I’ve never seen so many people crying at the same time.
    I’m sure if Walsh reads these blogs he laughs his a$$ off. I know I would.

    Jennings is playing well and he’s a good player. Is he the best PG in that draft? No but that’s my opinion.

    1) His grades weren’t good enough to get into college. He actually committed to a university and when he was academically ineligible he couldn’t attend and had to go to Europe. He didn’t go over there to mature lol. That may have been the most idiotic post on this blog.

    2) He went on youtube with rapper Joe Buddens and said “fuk the Knicks”

    3) He was late to his own draft. Remember he shook Sterns hand when he arrived during somebody else’s selection later in the draft?

    The list goes on and on but I’ll stop here.

    Stephen Curry was the pick we wanted and Rubio was the runner up. Nobody here, maybe with the exception of 1 would’ve took Jennings.

    Jordan Hill is not a wasted pick. We’re showcasing Curry and Jeffries to remove them off the books so WE CAN BE BETTER NEXT YEAR. Not sure what’s so hard to understand about that. Jordan Hill will be here after their gone. Use your head guys.

    Good call last night Bob….looks like that lawyer knew what he was talking about.

    Biggie I need you to e-mail me if you can. I have a question for you bro..thejoka83@aol.com

    Keep the faith guys….the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.

  • Jack D

    ditto

  • BobbyFromBK

    No. We won’t get over it. Since Donnie Walsh has been here he really hasn’t done anything to live up to his goal of making the team competetive while preparing to be a player in 2010.

    1. Hiring Dantoni–mistake. MD can’t coach or motivate. 2. Gallo at 6–mistake. It looks now like he only did it to please MD; which adds to mistake number 1 and Gallo’s Bad back will haunt him for life. 3–drafting J. Hill at 8–Mistake–Hill is a project and it only proves Walsh should fire his entire scouting department for passing on Jennings. 4–Not improving the team in summer 2009–mistake–there were a few cheap options and Iverson. 5–passing on A.I. now. Mistake.–Just because they won a game in Indiana, now Walsh and MD think the team will be okay. That’s fool’s gold. It’s only a matter of time before they go back to their bad habits and stink out the Gym again. Even with a healthy Curry.This roster is full of losers.

    And 6: Better prepare yourself now–LBJ ain’t coming.

  • Jack D

    i know..but be patient..he’ll get his minutes..he has his whole career ahead of him…we need to showcase jeffries and curry and blah blah blah and big guys take time to develop and all that stuff….

  • Jack D

    i like the chandler and gallo picks

  • Jack D

    to add insult to injury, we traded Ariza…enough said

  • Mucha

    “At times the light at the end of the tunnel is a train” – Charles Barkley

  • Jack D

    except that last yr’s draft wasn’t a bust, come on…

  • Jack D

    we go through a LOT of boxes of tissues, lol. It’s therapeutic; we like to talk about our problems, it helps.

  • The_Guy

    His grades? Who cares about his grades. What about Derrick Rose’s grades? Didn’t he get busted cheating on the SATs? I’m sure Mike Sweetney had great grades at Georgetown. Channing Frye is a really bright kid, but is soft and can only play when he’s the 5th option on a team like Phoenix where he’s not asked to rebound or defend.

    Charles Barley will never be accused of being articulate but he’s still a Hall of Famer. I bet Golden State was really concerned about Jennings’ grades when he dropped 55 points on them last week.

    He’s “late for his own draft?” Wrong. He chose not to go because he wasn’t sure where he was going.

    I’ll give you the Joe Budden thing but so what. The kid was mad the Knicks passed on him.

    And no we’re not “crying” it’s more like we’re fed up with the b.s with this team. How does a team get it wrong every year? Keep drinking the Kool Aid.

  • The_Guy

    And if Jennings isn’t the best PG in the draft who’s better? Name a single PG in the draft that’s playing better than him. And please don’t say Rubio cuz he’s stinking it up in Europe, looking more and more like a role player every time I see him.

  • JustinCharles

    Listen, obviously looking at hindsight Jennings would have been a great pick. He is proving everyone wrong, but these things happen EVERY DRAFT. The fact is, Hill was expected to go higher than eight and he fell to us and we grabbed him. At the time, no one was clamoring for Jennings, no one in the press was really knocking the pick.

    You can say the Knicks needed a PG but obviously Donnie didn’t see it as such a concern.

    Let me just say this: Hill is still a stud prospect, there are many PFs who ride the bench for a year or two learning the nuances of the post game and how to defend pro level big men. This guy is going to be a 10 rebound a game player who can at least nail the open J and make an impact on the offensive boards. If he bulks up a little and learns a post game, you’re talking about an All Star.

    It’s much easier for a guy like Jennings whose two main skills are his shooting, and his speed. You can use those skills right away in the league, especially if the team is putting the ball in your hands all the time.

    If Jennings becomes an All Star guard and Hill is an All Star PF in a few years, I think Hill is the better pick. Even shitty beg men like Darko and Kwame Brown earned large contracts after showing very little promise after 3 or 4 years in the league. This is because big men are always at a premium, they hard to find. Guards who can score are a dime a dozen.

  • The_Guy

    @ Justin Charles – I understand this happens in every draft. But why alwas to the Knicks? Why can’t we be the team that drafts the star? Why is it always the other teams? Aren’t we do?

    Portland got it wrong with Greg Oden over Kevin Durant. But they got it right with Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Fernadez, Jerryd Bayless, Travis Outlaw.

    Toronto may have made a mistake passing on Brandon Roy and Rudy Gay for Andrea Bargnani, but they hit a home run with Chris Bosh. Even the Clippers got it right with Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman.

    Is there a coincidence that the Knicks just happen to pass on stars in every draft?I think before this franchise is ready to take the next step, they need to hire proven talent evaluators. A scouting team, a GM, somebody.

    The Knicks didn’t need a PG? So why’d they draft Toney Douglas? Or look into signing Sessions, Tinsley, J Will, etc.

    I think what hurts me most is that Walsh admits he didn’t do his homework on Jennings. That bothers me. It was his job to do his homework on every player who might be available when we picked.

    I think this is why most of us are up in arms about Jennings.

    And I disagree. It’s alot easier to find a good PF than it is to find a star PG. PG and C are the 2 hardest positions to fill in the NBA.

  • DeBusscherescorner

    +12

  • Ilan

    For the record I never said he went over there to mature. I said the biggest knock on him coming out of high school was maturity. He went to a country thousands of miles from home where he didn’t know the language and came out of it pretty well. He didn’t cry for home. He didn’t blast his teammates. He worked hard, learned and improved parts of his game that were lacking despite not getting lots of run.

    As for his grades, who cares. Plenty of players in the NFL probably went through college unable to read at above a 4th grade level or even spell there own names. You don’t need to have book smarts to play basketball. Not everyone needs to be Shane Battier. Instincts and maturity are much more important. My point was that those were qualities Jennings demonstrated based on his time abroad. Thus, the biggest questions about his “draftability” had been answered and Donnie should have drafted him.

  • italian stallion

    I don’t blame Walsh for this AT ALL!

    Jennings played so little in Europe that even if you watched him in every game there wasn’t much to evaluate. In fact, his stats over there were pretty terrible.
    Add that to the fact that what little exposure we had to his personality just prior to draft and he looked like an even worse gamble.

    To select him you more or less were gambling on an unknown.

    Sometimes people do stupid things and get lucky. IMO, that’s what happened with the Bucks.