Arrrggghhhhh!!! The Knick fans are dying tonight. But let’s be honest: no one knows enough about this Latvian kid to know if this will be a major bust or the foundation of the franchise for the next 10 years. SU has been looking for Carmelo’s tweet to welcome Porzingis to the Knicks. Instead, he no doubt tweeted in Latvian: “Stand over here while I am jab stepping.” SU would have liked to see Justice Winslow who dropped to 10th to Miami. He is a player. Many on the radio wanted Cauley-Stein from Kentucky. Say what?? SU was surprised how high Kaminsky went – intereseting.
The Knicks are trading Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Hawks for Jerian Grant from Notre Dame. Feels like a wash to SU on that deal. But we know Hardaway Jr. and Melo did not like each other so no surprise there. Also, rumor is out that the Knicks will sign David West of the Pacers. 34 years old, past his prime, tough guy. Figure he’ll be healthy for 30 games this season.
Phil Jackson is one of those “smartest guys in the room” type people. He could have gone safer but at his age and his salary, what the heck! Apparently lots of NBA GMs like this kid from Latvia. But SU says this: your franchise player is Carmelo Anthony and is he really going to embrace a 19-year old from Latvia who weighs 109 pounds? Knick fans do not fret: you are only a couple years away before Isiah Thomas assumes Phil Jackson’s job.
SU has begun the search for a new team to root for next year. Too many of my Michigan faves are on the move – Hardaway, Trey Burke will supposedly be moved soon. And where will Jeremy Lin land? The only certainty for SU is that I will once again need to purchase the NBA Season Pass so I can watch players and teams that I respect and enjoy. Alas, the Knicks still do not make the cut.
OK Knick fans: what do ya think??????
Sports Update Intergalactic 
I think the draft was inconclusive for the Knicks. It all hinges on whether Porzingis develops into Dirk or Darco. I think he’s going to be a 7’3″ small forward for the next 2 – 3 years before showing if he is a star or a role player.
I’m guessing the master plan is that Phil knows that Carmelo will never be a fit for the triangle but will wait for him to age out of the league while praying to win the Kevin Durant sweepstakes next year and start gathering triangle type players. The only problem is that I think Phil runs out of time before his triangle project starts working.
The Hardaway / Carmelo rift is kind of funny because allegedly Hardaway was getting in Melo’s face because he was dogging it on defense. C’mon Melo, even James Harden knows he has to start playing D if he wants to get respect.
I’m planning on staying on the Hawks bandwagon for awhile. We’ve got room so climb aboard.
Really like the draft. Kids got a lot going for him and Phil took best long term player. While Winslow will surely be good at this point no one player will move the Needle in the next 2 years anyway. Probably happiest we got rid of your boy TJH, truly awful and hard to watch.
Great comments here from Mark and Harris. Where is the love for Tim Hardaway Jr? He is much maligned for his defense but I think the Hawks will be a great environment for him. An unselfish team with a coach who preaches that. Look for a bounce back year for Tim. I am not as high on the Latvian kid as Mark but the truth is no-one knows right now. The challenge becomes whether Melo will have any respect for him, take him under his wing, make sure he gets his touches. Er, the answer there is no, no, and no. I still like the Utah Jazz – they are a fun team to watch and should be contenders for a playoff spot this year assuming they don’t blow it up.
I know you like Hardaway, and I think he’ll be happy here as he played high school basketball in the area. However, I don’t want him taking minutes from my man Kent Bazemore. Maybe put them both on the court at the same time and run the other teams out of the builidng…
As for Winslow, how did Charlotte not grab him at 9? Dude is going to be a solid NBA player – and I just do not see the fit in Miami. Also, what is with Jordan’s track record of drafting tall, soft, wing white guys that only get pushed around in the NBA and cannot get off their shot. I guess that Zeller can crash the boards every so often, but I am not so sure that Frank the Tank is going to succeed at the next level. I guess in this draft it was ok to roll the dice… but again, how do you pass up Winslow. That being said, I like Kaminsky and hope he does well.
Lastly, of the 17 Kentucky players that declared, I guess only Aaron Harrison did not get drafted. His brother was picked in the second round. Maybe the team that ends up with Harrison (Grizzles?) could keep Aaron in the locker room and have him come out to play the second half of games in the place of Andy? I’m not sure it matters as neither one will see any playing time in the NBA anyway. I thought it a dumb move to come out, but I assume that Calipari’s program is similar to an associate’s degree program where you are done after two years.
Pete, as always you have your finger on the pulse of the NBA. I agree about Kaminsky – that was surprising and especially to go to Charlotte. They have Al Jefferson down low who is a great scorer and they have Cody Zeller who is another tall white player along the lines of Kaminsky but more athletic. If they are going to move Zeller, I could understand it. Otherwise, how do you play all 3 of them? I think Winslow could do well in Miami as they might lose both Wade and Deng this off season. He is a player I am looking forward to follow as I think he already has an NBA size body. Calipari looks more like an AAU coach than a college coach down in the Green Room. After all, the AAU coaches probably coached these players longer than he did.
Winslow is an in-between-er position player. He does not really create his own shot. Now he will be playing against other athletic types more on his level. Where is the upside here to select him? We need more potential upside with our selection. Lee’s hope Phil chose wisely or he will be slightly ahead of Isaiah Thomas in the popularity contest here in NY
Andy, I agree Winslow may be an in-between type player but he is a big guy with a good outside shot. Not a sure thing but likely to make an impact much sooner than the kid from Latvia. I hope he does well but other than Dirk, it’s hard to look at any other tall, European players like that who have been successful in the NBA. I think the more interesting off season for Phil Jackson will be his free agent signings. I am curious if anyone really wants to play with Melo.
Interesting take that the Knicks pick signals the end of catering to Melo. Funny, but if you’re going to stop catering to Melo, wouldn’t you want to do it before giving him a 5 year contract?
Seth, great article by Harvey Araton. It’s spot on. So, he’s annoyed. Maybe his agent will demand a trade? We should all be so lucky. Melo lucked out this past season as he was out for the 2nd half of the year. Assuming he is healthy this year and they win say 25 games, you can definitely picture him wanting to get out of town – and I would not blame him. He didn’t sign up for a rebuilding process here.