Yahoo: Knicks Held Illegal Draft Workouts
Former Knicks president Isiah Thomas hired Rodney Heard from the Atlanta Hawks in 2006 and still enjoys a close relationship with him. Through a school spokesman, Thomas, now the coach at Florida International University, declined to speak to Yahoo! Sports on Monday.
Donnie Walsh, who succeeded Thomas as president of the Knicks, kept Heard and ultimately gave him a new contract. Walsh said he was unaware of Heard’s workouts under his watch in 2009 and ’10.
“I don’t know anything about this,” Walsh said. “I didn’t know any of our scouts worked out people like this. They know they’re not supposed to.”
By holding the workouts, Heard could gain valuable information on young prospects who may have had small samples of work on the college level. Teams can scout college games, practices and sanctioned predraft evaluation camps. Prior to 2009, team officials weren’t allowed to conduct or attend workouts before the annual predraft camp…By holding the workouts, Heard could gain valuable information on young prospects who may have had small samples of work on the college level. Teams can scout college games, practices and sanctioned predraft evaluation camps. Prior to 2009, team officials weren’t allowed to conduct or attend workouts before the annual predraft camp.
The NBA altered that rule in 2009, allowing teams to run limited workouts with draft-eligible players prior to the combine. The league office reiterated in a April 6, 2010 memo: “Teams are prohibited from conducting more than two team visits per draft-eligible player prior to the draft. A ‘team visit’ includes any contact between a team representative and a draft-eligible player that is arranged for the purpose of recruiting or working out the draft-eligible player, including for the purpose of having the player tested, interviewed or otherwise evaluated by a team representative.”
Walsh said he’s never sanctioned a formal workout with a player outside of the Knicks practice facility, and if he did, the workout would’ve included several members of the organization.
I believe the idea that a team gains some sort of advantage by holding these workouts is a bit of a stretch. I talked to some Big East coaches about Wilson Chandler well before he was a Knick and all felt he’d be a good, solid pro. DePaul isn’t Dubai. Scouts like Heard are always looking for diamonds in the rough, and borderline NBA players who can have an impact. The idea that allegedly a lottery pick got hurt is the story.
Meaning, why Brandon Rush would be working out for the Knicks is what’s strange seeing that he was a consensus lottery pick and the Knicks didn’t have any lottery selections, nor the assets to move into the lottery in 2007. But, obviously, the biggest nightmare scenario is holding private workouts and having a multi-million dollar prospect get seriously injured. His injury IS the bigger story here. If he didn’t get injured, I’d wonder if this is an issue considering it’s hard to believe that workouts like this don’t happen elsewhere.
Be that as it may, it would seem the fines for such a violation are monetary, and has nothing to do with surrendering picks, so I can’t say that I think this is a huge deal, unless the NBA truly wants to make an example out of the Knicks then they will hit them where it hurts the most…via actual draft picks. What’s more puzzling is that Donnie Walsh again doesn’t seem to be in sync with scouts, and at the same time holding illegal workouts could further tarnish Isiah Thomas’ legacy as a draft guru.
Pingback: Yao Ming | New Camera Reviews.com