“…(Donnie) Walsh respects Thomas, particularly his ability to evaluate young talent. Three of Thomas’ former first-round picks, David Lee, Nate Robinson and Wilson Chandler, are starting for Mike D’Antoni and are enjoying their best seasons.

Thomas’ first draft pick as Knicks’ president was Trevor Ariza, who was selected 43rd overall in the 2004 draft. Ariza is a top reserve for the Lakers and scored a career-high 26 points in Sunday’s win over Dallas.

Thomas scouted Danilo Gallinari, Walsh’s first draft pick with the Knicks, but it is believed that Thomas favored Indiana shooting guard Eric Gordon, who was selected seventh by the Clippers after the Knicks drafted Gallinari with the sixth pick.

As the Knicks make their push toward the playoffs, Gallinari is becoming less of a factor. He played just six minutes in Sunday’s loss to Cleveland. Gordon is averaging 15.5 points.

The Knicks are 28-38 and don’t play again until tomorrow against the Nets, who return from the West Coast and will be playing their third game in four days. Of the Knicks’ last 16 games, eight are against teams with losing records

“There’s not any must games,” D’Antoni said. “They’re all games that we have to get to (have) 36, 37, 38 wins to really have a legitimate shot…”

As I wrote in the comments section yesterday, I had Eric Gordon ahead of O.J. Mayo on my board last year and behind Rose and Westbrook. Walsh told me himself how much he loved Mayo and I heard several times that he was in love with Westbrook’s athleticism and overall ability.

Think about this. Had Walsh drafted Gordon he would have sat in the beginning of the year. They still sign Chris Duhon as a pass-first and you had Q and Nate in that mix as well, along with Jamal Crawford. So those who wanted Nate to get the most looks should be thankful that Walsh didn’t add another guard to the mix. I think they are happy, relatively speaking based on Gallo”s status, that they got to fully evaluate Nate.

Ellis not be my ideal PG either, but who cares if he fits with Crawford. If we get Ellis we should move JCraw, stat. Ellis is a long shot at best, so it doesn’t really matter. That said, I’m somewhat excited to see what Crawford can do off the ball in D’Antoni’s system.

The connection between D’Antoni and Gallinari has been generously voiced: the Knicks coach shared team with Danilo’s father, Vittorio, back in the eighties, when Olimpia Milano dominated Europe (the great Bob McAdoo joined them too).

Now, many can think this is a sentimental pick, or something similar.

Wrong.

Gallinari is for real, an excellent basketball player– talented, skilled and competitive. He’s a good kid, a good teammate and a winner. You know, the kind of assets the Knicks are overloaded with, right?

Besides, looking around the draft reviews, it’s worth mentioning that Danilo’s defense is significantly underrated at this point. He’s not the quickest player around, but he enjoys better lateral quickness than he’s given credit for. This past season, officiating as the team’s go-to anchor, Gallinari didn’t put much emphasis on defense, but the previous campaign he proved capable of staying in front of most wings, even significantly smaller ones than him.

Of course we might end up finding better players picked after the Italian, but he brings very nice value at the sixth spot.

DRAFT GRADE: D
New York Knicks. It didn’t take the New York fans at the draft long to start booing. Welcome to New York, Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni. They said it would take awhile, but New Yorkers aren’t that patient. They booed loudly and often as Italian forward Danilo Gallinari walked across the stage. The question is if LeBron James wants to play with him. Anyone seen Frederic Weis? Ouch.
Sam Smith

Last year I had a long e-mail exchange with Smith who admitted to me that he was trying to razz Knick fans. Here is another example of Smitty trying to placate Knick fans, the one’s who booed the pick other night.

I can’t really blame him, those dopey Knick fans gave him the ammo. But, to relate the kid to Weis shows equal ignorance, meaning he’s never seen him play.

But hey Sammy, why let facts get in the way of a good story, right? A “D” is way off base here, which means whatever credibility you had just drove off in your clown car.

Honk Honk.

Charlotte Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins says drafting D.J. Augustin isn’t intended to supplant Raymond Felton as the team’s starting point guard.

Specifically, Higgins said, there’s “no truth” to a report out of New York that the Bobcats might trade Felton to the Knicks for power forward David Lee.

Augustin should get minutes right away, but I’m not buying shifting Felton to the 2 as a combo backcourt. Felton would be a great “engine” for D’Antoni. Lee is the issue, since he can tell a team that he won’t re-sign if he doesn’t like where he ends up.

Ken Berger of Newsday discusses how Gallinari’s game will translate in the NBA

Marc Berman outlines some interesting information about the Knicks international scouting

Alan Hahn talks about the next piece to the puzzle and tells fans not to jump off the ledge

Frank Isola thinks that Gallinari could mean the end of David Lee

Like I said with Tommy Dee on Knicksblog Radio yesterday we all need to calm down for a bit. Lets give Mike D’Antoni and Donnie Walsh some time to work their plan. Part of the outcry is that Knicks fans are so use to the Isiah Thomas era where there was no plan. I do not sense, at least at this point, that Donnie Walsh is going down the same road.

I was very pleased I got the chance to meet some of the fans of the site and posters, all of whom share great love for the Knicks, chicks, and beer.

I have to say that at no point did I take McHale seriously with Mayo, but I thought Love in Memphis was a good fit. Either way, I’m not sold on how aggressively Donnie was trying to trade up.

Now comes the task of getting a point guard, and there are options. Look at the Bobcats, look at Memphis or Steve Blake. Either way, I know we’ll have one in place very soon.

Gallinari playing the 4 in D’Antoni’s system is intriguing since it allows for Wilson Chandler to get minute as well. It also gives the post some much needed space. Not sure how Gallinari would fare in the pick and pop, as he could use a little weight, but it seems like all he needs is slight separation to knock down open shots.

As far as the booing goes, and the “USA” chants that tried to make noise, if you were the same person that cheered Maciej Lampe, then consider yourself a suspect fan.

TKB’s 1st Commandment

Thou shalt not BOO a player you’ve never seen play….and don’t underestimate the level of the European Elite league.

Check out this video of Gallinari verses Maccabi Elite.