With the fourth overall pick, the New York Knicks drafted 19 year old Kristaps Porzingis. The Latvian power forward, by way of Baloncesta Sevilla Spain, is 7 feet and 1/2 inch tall and from my estimation, weighs about 115 lbs. He’s an outside shooter and shot blocker that needs to go on the Eddy Curry/Jerome James diet. A typical high-risk high-reward player, that we’ll have more (lots, lots more!) on in the morning.
The second surprise of the night was the Knicks acquiring the 19th pick from the Atlanta Hawks for Tim Hardaway Jr. The shooting guard wore out his welcome in New York with lots of crappy shooting nights, failing to play defense, and perhaps single handedly costing them the first overall pick in the draft by getting hot at the wrong time.
New York picked up Jerian Grant, a mature (23 years old) and large (6-5) point guard. Grant has an NBA-ready body, and he’s a strong finisher at the hoop. He made 73.1% of his shots at the rim his senior year, and averaged 6.2 fta/40 his senior year. Also careful with the ball, the Notre Damer was 7th in the NCAA in assists per game, and his assist per turnover ratio was a healthy 3.0. His three point shooting did regress his last season, but was healthy the seasons prior. Oh and Grant made one hell of a dunk this year (see #1 in the YouTube Video) where it appears his shoulder gets to the height of the rim.
EDIT: The official press release about Grant/Hardaway
NEW YORK, June 25, 2015 – New York Knickerbockers President Phil Jackson announced today that the draft rights of Jerian Grant, out of Notre Dame, the 19th overall pick in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft, have been acquired from the Atlanta Hawks, via Washington, in exchange for guard Tim Hardaway Jr.
Grant, 6-4, 198, averaged 14.6 points and 5.8 assists over four seasons with Notre Dame. In his senior season, the Silver Spring, MD native was named a First Team All-American and was one of five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award as the National Player of the Year by averaging 16.5 points and 5.8 assists in 38 games.
Hardaway, 6-6, 210-pounds, was originally drafted by New York in the first round, 24th pick overall, in the 2013 NBA Draft. Last season, the Orinda, CA native averaged 11.5 points in 70 games.
EDIT2:
Apparently, the Knicks have made another trade! Statistically Hernangomez appears to be a rebounders & inside scorer. Unfortunately at 6-11, he doesn’t appear to be a shot blocker at all. Apparently he’s not very athletic, but supposedly has a high-IQ.
GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — A New York Knicks official says the team has acquired draft rights to Spanish center Guillermo Hernangomez from the Philadelphia 76ers in a trade.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday night because the trade had not been finalized by the NBA. The official says Philadelphia received two future second round picks.
Hernangomez played with the last two seasons with New York’s fourth overall pick, Kristaps Porzingis, with Sevilla of the Spanish League. He averaged 10.4 points and 6.1 rebounds in 31 games last season. In 74 career games with Sevilla, Hernangomez averaged 7.5 points and 4.3 rebounds.
The official says Hernangomez will play next season in Spain.