Daequon Cook is another possibility
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- June
- 5
I do not consider any mock draft a credible source of information, and that includes my own. There’s all kinds of nonsense floating around out there and teams are eager to push their own agendas in the weeks leading up to the NBA draft.
One wild card pick early in the round can render days and weeks of research instantly useless.
 And not everyone in cyberspace has access to the people who sat in the bleachers all winter taking notes on these prospects or the people who sit in the front office and make the actual decisions.
Still, there are some mock drafts out there I can’t argue with right now as far as the Knicks are concerned.
Daequan Cook is showing up in a number of places.
The unpolished shooting guard might be a replica of Jamal Crawford, but he’s exactly the kind of developing player Knicks president/coach Isiah Thomas is known to make a grab for.
Cook played one season at Ohio State, averaging 9.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in a mere 19.7 minutes. He’s good from behind the arc. He’s a strong finisher. He’s very athletic. He’s got loads of potential.
Should he actually use the 23rd overall pick, Thomas will happily take a gamble.
There’s a realistic chance that Cook will never amount to anything more than a 12-minute role player, but when there’s nobody left on the board who can impact the lineup it’s always better to use some imagination. And if there’s repetition, it’s never a chore trading young players who have a little upside.
Does anybody remember Trevor Ariza?
Cook isn’t what the Knicks need, although one more shooter off the bench might come in handy. But there’s a strong possibility he could wind up in New York.
Unless he lands somewhere else.
(Hey, everybody hedges when discussing the NBA draft).
I do have one hypothetical for you to ponder: You’re getting married and you invite Billy Donovan. Do you accidentally leave out the dinner response card? The poor guy might suffer a breakdown having to decide between chicken, beef and fish.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, June 5th, 2007 at 9:59 pm by Mike Dougherty.
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Mike, I have a question for you:
The Spurs have made a good living off of late draft picks by knowing the International leagues and locking up NBA rights on good players. They almost have an international farm system that serves to back up the considerable depth they have on their active roster. Oberto is the latest guy out of the pipeline. What do the Knicks have in terms of international scouting? Dedicated personell? Wally Serbiack’s Dad? local guys they have on retainer? Like that Morris signing, there seems to be the possibility for alot of creativity in building a team outside of the traditional methods.
Also, speaking of the Spurs, what’s up with Butler?
Mike,
You say “should he actually use the 23rd pick”. Do you really think there is the likelihood that he’ll swing a deal? Do you think Rashard is coming? I remember during the season you threw out a Crawford for Lewis scenario as something you’d do. I thought it was reasonable at the time but Jamal seemed to become more valuable as the season progressed. The two questions I have are have you heard anything and where do you stand on those two players?
Willis,
Yes, the Spurs are good at scoping out talent overseas. Good teams stuck with low picks have to get creativeand that’s what they did with Parker and Ginobili, they drafted them before most teams believed they were ready. It worked for San Antonio because they didn’t need either player to come in right away and help. It’s more difficult to do that now. Every team has overseas scouts, at least one. The Knicks have Kevin Wilson, who’s logged a lot of miles in Europe. The organization is probably a little shy about drafting foreign players and you can blame Fred Weis for that.
Dan,
I’m not ruling out a trade because there are so many young players already on the roster. Maybe he’ll just package it and move up. If he goes after Lewis, it will have to be part of that deal. I’m not sure Crawford is what Seattle is looking for. The hometown factor isn’t so important because the franchise might be moving. And his value to the Knicks has increased. He’s usually very durable, which is big since we don’t know how long Marbury and Richardson are going to last from season to season. I haven’t heard anything definitive, but there’s no way Isiah hasn’t called and inquired. I like Rashard Lewis a lot and think he would be a great fit with Curry, but I wouldn’t throw in Jamal unless there’s no other way to get the deal done.
Isaiah has said that the pick will be a long term project. Cook fits in this category. He reminds me a lot of Redd form the Bucks( talentwise)His attitude seems to be horrible. Both lefty shooters , with a so so handle and good athletic ability.Look for the Pistons to pick Williams at 15. I havent been reading the blogs, but does anyone like the thought of bringing in Rasheed? Hes a great help defender, hes got great post mmoves but hes comfortable on the perimeter(wont clog up the lane for FATTY)and he gets a bad rap, but Im sure hed love to play for Thomas , and Thomas needs an assasin out there. I would give up Frye and Q for cap reasons.
Mike,
Do we need another 6’5” two guard (Balkman, Q, Crawford, Collins, Marburry, Francis and Nate), if we CAN’T get the BC’s shot blocker. Then let see what Morris can do and use that pick to get me a bigger 3 (6’8”, 6’9” range) in the draft or trade.
I’m all for a spot up European player, that can prevent doubling down on Eddy. We don’t need any more athletic types (see Balkman, Jefferies and Lee). Matter of fact I want a European/South American shooter. It seem every playoff team had at least 1 or 2.
I’m done with SOFTY Fyre and CIRCUS ACT Nate (see Carmelo Anthony scuffle IN BOTH CASES).
I can’t object to Rasheed. I think it is unanimus that Frye is not the solution at 4 and Rasheed’s contract expires before 2009/2010 when the Knicks will un-capped (current projected salary is $41,279,523). We can develop his replacement at the 4, and make a decision then.
I think as well, you have to be kinda pessimistic about the possibility of Zeke landing either Rashard or O’Neal. My question is, with Riley looking at Artest, how long can Zeke wait to pull the trigger on Artest? He can be had without giving up major talent(Malik Rose + Nate Robinson or something of that ilk)due to Ron Ron fatigue, we have no unquestioned best option at 3, and his contract expires next year. He has a great year, we can keep him, he’s a disaster, we let him go.
Draft-wise, why not a shooter as Henry suggests. Looks like Sean Williams 75 blocks are valued over his blunts, and some suggest he has a wink on with a team high in the draft. Belinelli and Fernandez have been mocked for the Knicks for weeks now – Euro-shooters both, the Syracuse kid is being touted as the truth from long range. Why not get one in the draft, bring him up right, make him trade defense for shots, and let him and Curry develop synergy.
If we can’t get Williams to fill our gaping defensive hole in the middle, then we must draft the best player available. I trust Isaiah to make the right decision. As a previous blogger mentions though, I would hate to draft another undersized shooting guard, since we already have so many (marbury, crawford, nate).
The wave of the future in the NBA are strong, durable players like Lebron, and Mikael Petrus from Golden State (6’8”-6’9”), that can play multiple positions, and are excellent perimeter and post defenders. The only reason why Golden State lost to Utah was their bench was too shallow and they got fatigued. But they really could beat any team in this league in my opinion.
Josh Smith is another player of this mold. Perimeter defense, can do help defense and block from the weakside, and can run the floor.
If they can get Artest for Nate, Frye, Rose, Big Snacks, Cato, Jeffries, Francis, #23 or any combination of the above, they have to do it.
Josh Smith can be scary good. He’s thrown down some sick dunks at MSG and I love the shot blocking. It would be nice to have a shot blocker/finisher at the 3.