The Garden Grasp

Looming Decisions

By, Greg Hutchins

The excitement heading into the Draft Lottery quickly turned into another round of disappointment for New York fans and team officials with dreams of landing Derrick Rose. As the rival Chicago Bulls jumped from 9th to 1st, the Knicks lost out on a golden opportunity to select in the top 3 and were subsequently bumped from 5th to 6th. With Rose & Michael Beasley no longer viable targets, Donnie Walsh's executive skills will be put to the test. Some have suggested that he trade down or package the pick with a player to reduce payroll. What Walsh does will provide great insight as to what Knicks fans should expect for the coming season.

Since 1998, only two players (Wally Szczerbiak in '99 & Brandon Roy in '06) have been selected 6th and gone on to make the All-Star team. Last season, the Milwaukee Bucks selected Yi Jianlian from China who went on to have a decent 2007-08 campaign after a brutal showing at the Las Vegas Summer League. Other players drafted at 6th in recent history include Martell Webster (2005), Josh Childress (2004), Chris Kaman (2003), Dajuan Wagner (2002), Shane Battier (2001) and former Knick DerMarr Johnson (2000).

There are reports that D'Anonti and Walsh are seriously considering drafting the much-hyped small forward from Italy, Danilo Gallinari with the 6th pick. Walsh recently dispatched his $18MM talent scout, Isiah Thomas to Europe to watch Gallinari play. According to experts, Gallinari is a unique talent with great shooting range. Those same experts said Andrea Bargnani - also from Italy - was worthy of the top selection in the 2006 NBA Draft. In two seasons, Bargnani has posted pedestrian averages of 10.8 ppg & 3.8 rpg and was criticized publicly by Toronto Raptors teammate Chris Bosh for lackluster play.

Considering the positive signs Wilson Chandler showed on both ends of the court last season, Walsh would be better served trying to address more pressing needs than adding another small forward. If OJ Mayo slips to 6th, he's the perfect fit for a team starving for a big-time playmaker who can defend for 94 feet. Mayo recently compared himself to Deron Williams and believes he is poised to experience success similar to the Utah Jazz's starting point guard. Should Mayo be off the board, DJ Augustin becomes an intriguing prospect. Augustin's stats (19.2 ppg, 5.8 apg, 1.2 spg) were more impressive than Rose's (14.9 ppg, 4.7 asp, 1.2 spg) and his experience working with Steve Nash in the off-season would make him a good fit for Mike D'Antoni's offense.

In the event Walsh packages the 6th pick in an effort to trade down for a second first round selection or as part of a deal to unload a bad contract, it's critical that he acquire talent that will help right the ship immediately. When Walsh hired D'Antoni, the notion of rebuilding went out the window. D'Antoni was clearly brought in to rejuvenate the franchise and expedite it's return to respectability. Now the onus is on Walsh to make smart personnel moves. The notion of trading the team's third consecutive top 10 lottery pick just to rid themselves of Zach Randolph's contract (3 years/$48MM remaining) is down right appalling considering Randolph was acquired on draft day last year. If Walsh can orchestrate a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers involving Randolph for the likes of Samuel Dalembert (shot blocking center) & Louis Williams (dynamic young point guard) without giving up the lottery pick, he'll immediately become a candidate for Executive of the Yea r.

Any trade that includes the 6th pick must be well thought out and have positive short & long term effects. Although cap flexibility in 2010 is the ultimate goal, increasing the win total next season is paramount. If Walsh makes the wrong move, D'Antoni will be sitting on the dais in Secaucus, NJ for a second year in a row trying to win the draft rights to Blake Griffin or Demar DeRozan.