Your 2015 Knicks Pre-Draft Rumors Round Up
With the draft coming up on Thursday, you cannot go on Twitter or watch TV without a billion rumors being thrown in your face. Teams are trying to build up the value of their picks/players and writers are trying to get pageviews and sell newspapers. That being said, we still have to address some of this chatter since there is a chance something may actually come true by Friday morning (but still, probably not).
1. Brandon Jennings for Tim Hardaway Jr. and pieces
Ian Begley floated this one out there on ESPN yesterday and I got excited simply because I can’t stand Tim Hardaway Jr. Hardaway has been average-at-best during his time in New York and has helped create some drama while not creating many wins. Meanwhile, Brandon Jennings is from Compton, and I have too many great memories as a hip hop fan to hate on Compton. Then again, Jennings is a lefty guard (always awkward to watch) coming off of an Achilles tear and is a high-volume shooter with a low-volume field goal percentage. I love the idea of moving Hardaway along with the Knicks‘ trade exception to get an actual contributor, but I don’t think I want Jennings to be that guy. And if Jennings looks good this year, he will be a free agent in 2016 and has constantly reminded people that he wants to end up in New York as a Knick. Perhaps we cross this bridge again next summer.
2. Eric Bledsoe and the #13 pick for the #4 pick
Matt Moore of The Sporting News reported that the Suns are interested in moving Bledsoe and the Knicks could be a possible fit. Eric Bledsoe is still young with All-Star talent, even if he comes with a bunch of injury concerns. You somewhat know what you are getting from Bledsoe, whereas every player in this draft comes with a legitimate amount of questions. I do think Towns will clearly be the best player when it’s all said and done, but there will be other All-Stars in this draft. The only problem is nobody knows who. So if you can get a guy with Bledsoe’s ability and still move down and pick up another young player (because of course the Knicks don’t have their pick next year), you have to think about it.
3. DeMarcus Cousins for whatever the Kings would want
The Knicks haven’t been linked to any trades with DeMarcus Cousins, but the rumors that he wants out of Sacramento are everywhere and Marc Stein reported that the Lakers are actively trying to acquire Boogie. And when the Lakers want a big man, they usually get him. Whether it’s Wilt, Kareem, Shaq, or even Charmin Soft Dwight Howard (that’s his actual name now). The Lakers can offer packages that include the #2 pick and/or Julius Randle and other pieces. The Knicks simply don’t have the assets to match what the Lakers can do. The Lakers’ biggest problem is that the franchises have been at each others’ throats since the White Chocolate/C-Webb days (aka NBA League Pass Heaven). Hell, Tim Donaghy even helped rob the Kings against the Lakers back in 2002.
Anyway, the fact remains that Boogie Cousins has been unhappy about being in Sacramento for a while now. He was pissed off when they fired Mike Malone last season and the tweet below came out last night amidst whispers that Cousins doesn’t like George Karl doing what George Karl does (namely pissing off his own superstars)
Now I am not a #BlackTwitter expert, but I imagine a snake in the grass emoji tweet is a death blow for any player/coach relationship in the NBA. I then sniffed around Boogie’s Twitter account and realized this was his background.
Now is that an old background from a campaign to get Cousins to New York for last year’s All-Star game? Maybe, maybe not (definitely yes). But who cares? Now us Knicks fans have a rallying cry and a hashtag. #DMCtoNYC.
The Knicks should trade whatever is needed to get Boogie here, short of Melo and Clyde Frazier. The 4 pick, any trade exceptions, Future Hall of Famer Langston Galloway, etc. Sure Boogie has some baggage for being a bit of a malcontent. But if he wasn’t, there is NO CHANCE the Kings would ever trade him. So the Knicks need to do whatever it takes to get Cousins to MSG. If not for his talent in a league without many dominant big men, then do it for the fact that we could watch Phil Jackson meltdown on Twitter as he watches Melo, Boogie, and potentially somebody like Brandon Jennings do stupid shit on and off the court. The only problem with this plan is that it requires Steve Mills to do something positive and noteworthy for the Knicks franchise, so this is all probably just a pipe dream.
4. Knicks are rumored to be drafting Frank Kaminsky, Emmanuel Mudiay, D’Angelo Russell, Willie Cauley-Stein, Justise Winslow, Kristaps Porzingis, or Trey Lyles: People taking every report seriously about who teams are going to draft have never played in a fantasy league before. Because if you ask anybody who they are going to draft with their first pick, they will lie right to your face. NBA teams are no different, other than their pick effects millions of people and dollars in the long-run. Anyway, here are my quick #HotTakes for all the players mentioned to the Knicks (which can then be used against me when I am dead wrong about multiple players in the coming years).
Frank Kaminsky
I love Frank Kaminsky and if you don’t, you are a wet blanket (or at least not a slow white guy that marveled at him leading Wisco to the National Championship). I actually wouldn’t mind if he ended up in New York, but there is NO WAY he should be picked #4. Phil Jackson and the boys probably just wanted to break the internet by leaking that yesterday. Instead they just gave a ton of Knicks fans heart attacks. Then again, this is the Knicks so this may actually happen. Shit.
Emmanuel Mudiay
I personally like Mudiay. And by like I mean he looked good as the only true athlete on the court in China on the YouTube videos I watched. And I am pretty sure he was the #1 high school point guard prospect as a senior and was ready to enter the purgatory known as “Being the point guard of a Larry Brown coached team” at SMU, but had to go overseas because the NCAA is a bunch of assholes. Oh yeah, and his newest Foot Locker campaign sold me as well, so that counts for something, right?
D’Angelo Russell
Again, like Jennings, the whole lefty thing scares me. But he can shoot, which regardless of what Phil Jackson thinks, is very important in today’s NBA. Like Mudiay, Russell is seen as one of the best four players in the draft and I’ve always wanted the Knicks to end up with one of those guys since they NEVER actually keep their picks the years they can draft that high. But in all seriousness, I’d be happy if he somehow slips to the Knicks.
Willie Cauley-Stein
Based on all the mock drafts, Cauley-Stein getting picked at four would be a slight reach. The one reason I would be fine with it is that the Knicks need interior defense. Greg Monroe has been rumored to the Knicks forever now and it sounds like he is basically a lock to come here. Monroe is still young and can improve, but he is more of a finesse, offensive big man. Getting a guy like Cauley-Stein helps the defense in the paint, especially when the Knicks go small and Melo plays the 4. I’m not sure if it actually works, but trading Calderon and the 4 pick for Ty Lawson and the 7 pick could make sense if the Knicks thought Cauley-Stein would be there at 7 but didn’t want to reach. That being said, his lack of an offensive game is scary. People picked apart Towns before the Knicks dropped to 4, and Towns can shoot from anywhere on the floor. Changing his name to Willie Trill Cauley-Stein only helps his stock in my eyes.
Justise Winslow
Winslow looked great in the tourney and I can understand why a lot of people want him. But for the Knicks I just don’t think he fits where this team is now. I think they need a big man to handle business down low or a point guard that can create. Melo is our 3/4 for the foreseeable future and I feel like it’s easier to get lucky and find a bargain at that position than at point guard or center.
Kristaps Porzingis
This guy could be the Next Dirk, hell if I know. And if anybody knew for sure, he would be the first pick of the draft. And he does have the Ivan Drago flow going. But the problem is the Knicks and their fans are still recovering from the Frederic Weis pick. And I say this as one of the Knicks fans chanting for Maciej Lampe years ago. And he was a BUST. Is it fair that every white European gets shit on because Frederic Weis was drafted over Ron Artest? Nope. But those are the breaks in the concrete jungle where dreams are made of.
(This dunk still blows my mind. I watched it the night it happened on loop at least 250 times)
Trey Lyles
Similar to Kaminsky, Lyles could be a fit but NOT #4. I talked more about him in a blog a few weeks ago, and to be honest I hope I am never talking about him again as a Knicks blogger.