Count de Pennies: Interesting thought.

Especially when you consider the growing body of evidence which suggests that UCLA players under Howland tend to make a significant leap, statistically, in the NBA. Westbrook, Love, Collison, Holiday, and Afflalo are the most notable examples of ex-Bruins who have far outplayed their projections.

That being said, where would you play Honeycutt? I’m not sure if he’s really a good fit for this Knicks team. The UCLA player I’d keep my eye on is Malcolm Lee, one of the best perimeter defenders in college hoops last year. If that’s all he ever turned out to be as a pro, he’d still be a great pickup for NY. But if he exhibits the same growth spurt, offensively, seen in other former Bruins, he could be a steal in the late first/early second (where he’s projected to go)

I would give him minutes at the 2 and 3. At 6’9, (If he is as athletic as advertised) he could cause major mismatch problems at the shooting guard position. According to scouting reports, he moves well without the ball on offense, which is something that I think the Knicks had problems with after the Melo deal. He seems to be a player we can develop while contributing from the get go as a back up with spot up shooting and effort on D.

CRJoe: Woah, take it easy sparky…

You have zero right to say that after insulting me with some grammar school education comment. Worry about yourself and I’ll take care of me.

CRJoe: Another thing is that I’m not the one talking with smugness and condescendence,

Yeah, you are… I cite facts to back up just about any point I state definitively. Otherwise I talk about things as conditional primarily.

CRJoe: the same roster filler as Lopez will turn to…

Again, thanks for predicting the future.

CRJoe: Insider trade talks??? It’s on the front page of yahoo sports buddy, ess dog saw it as well…

Because every rumor in the MSM is true? You state is as fact, when it’s really a rumor. You don’t even cite a source. That comes across as smug.

CRJoe: ou are the one defending the work of Robin Lopez, but in the next sentence you condemn TD to be worse than Burks or Klay Thompson, just because you have such a strong grasp of quality evaluation…

You need to work on your reading comprehension. I can write it in Spanish too if that helps you.

I am not saying Lopez is great. I am defending him from being called terrible based on a small sample, the average of which is actually solid. I am saying that you’re going to have a hard time finding a C who spaces the floor, defends well, and rebounds well.

I am not saying that any one player will be better than TD. I am saying that after the #5 pick in this draft there is like a 99% chance that…

Lopez eFG% on jumpers??? Guess what… He has similar numbers to Ian Mahinmi & Mikki Moore, Mahinmi is a better rebounder and defender, and Moore is the same roster filler as Lopez will turn to…

Insider trade talks??? It’s on the front page of yahoo sports buddy, ess dog saw it as well… You can go anywhere on the sports blogosphere and see they’re taking offers from Sn Antonio (Hill & a future pick), Phoenix (a pick swap and some filler), Indy as I mentioned, etc…

Another thing is that I’m not the one talking with smugness and condescendence, you are the one defending the work of Robin Lopez, but in the next sentence you condemn TD to be worse than Burks or Klay Thompson, just because you have such a strong grasp of quality evaluation…

CRJoe: I’m not saying we are looking for someone “who excels” at those areas, we’re looking for someone who isn’t terrible in those areas… Like Lopez… Except that with those numbers you showed, you can move him from terrible to “meh” in Mid range game… Either way defenses would sag of him and live with his jumpers as long as they can keep Melo and STAT out of the paint…

Man you are right, Robin Lopez is just awful at everything and has no chance of getting better after his 22 year old season. What a bum. His career numbers to date as an average NBA C are a mirage.

We shouldn’t evaluate his eFG% on jumpers relative to other Cs… we should just say they’re “meh” because CRJoe knows all. We need a guy who can shoot, defend, and rebound. They grow on trees. Sheed… oh, wait he couldn’t rebound. Uh… yeah, bigmen who demonstrate the ability to do all those things are borderline All-Stars or better. And you don’t need someone mediocre at all of them if you get someone who excels in one or two. And you can play a rotation with Lopez and other bigs.

He can’t play with Amare… even though they played on a Conference Finals team together. Great points.

CRJoe: Yeah they are shopping around the pick, they want a scorer and a mid-first round pick, the Pacers are front runners offering Rush & the 15th…. Maybe we could snatch it with TD, the pick and some cash… But honestly I don’t see anyone as good as TD outside of the 5th pick, maybe we could get a better fit for our roster, but no a better player…

Thanks for imparting your infinite wisdom on insider trade talks among NBA GMs and that only 5 players in the draft being better than the Knicks’ 6th man. Much appreciated. We are all so lucky.

Matt Smith: Obviously not… but I’d rather take a player that fills a need with less talent than a player that we don’t need at all who might be marginally better. I look at both, but favor need more.

I tend to go the opposite way. I don’t think “needs” are so obvious, because I think every team needs good players and rotations are fairly fluid. In the draft, by #17, you’re looking at maybe 50/50 NBA vs. non-NBA players long-term. Like 1/2 of the “best available Xs” will be scrubs. Even though you have Melo, if you see what you really believe is the next Danny Granger (just an example since he went #17 and is a SF… which is Burks to me if he falls, though Burks is luckily more of a 2 anyway) I think you go with the value. Rotations are fluid enough that you can almost always have 2 good wings, guards, or bigs even if their skills overlap. If nothing else, you can trade one of them down the road for similar value at a position of “need.”

I also think the lower in the draft you get the less you should focus on need. Very roughly speaking… by the mid-first maybe 1/2 the picks in an average draft will do anything and in an average draft maybe 2 or 3 or 4 2nd rounders will do anything significant. In the lottery, on the other hand, I think it’s easier to look at studs at two different positions, have a hard time evaluating which is better, and go with the better fit. Theoretically I still wouldn’t go for need in the lottery (where the opportunity cost of missing is usually higher), I just think practically it’s more likely to come up when you’re deciding between a lot of good players.

Ted Nelson: ut if you’re looking for a competent NBA C who excels at shooting from outside, rebounding, and interior defense… you’re probably going to be looking for a long time.

I’m not saying we are looking for someone “who excels” at those areas, we’re looking for someone who isn’t terrible in those areas… Like Lopez… Except that with those numbers you showed, you can move him from terrible to “meh” in Mid range game… Either way defenses would sag of him and live with his jumpers as long as they can keep Melo and STAT out of the paint…

Ted Nelson: It’s pretty hard to stop a quick PG in the NBA one-on-one with the current rules. Needs to be a team effort. Rondo torches a lot of people, and in this case it could be on TD and/or the lack of help behind/around him.

This is so true, TD is a pretty good defender, man on man & applied to the system… Problem is Stockton would look bad with the defensive mess the Knicks were towards the end of the season.

ess-dog: It sounds like the Bucks pick at #10 is there for the taking. I think Toney Douglas and the #17 would do it.

Yeah they are shopping around the pick, they want a scorer and a mid-first round pick, the Pacers are front runners offering Rush & the 15th…. Maybe we could snatch it with TD, the pick and some cash… But honestly I don’t see anyone as good as TD outside of the 5th pick, maybe we could get a better fit for our roster, but no a better player…

Unofficially, Morris wins the award for player whose agent is most likely to come across this article and frantically email it out to teams on the morning of the draft.”

Ted Nelson: A. So you would rather have a bad player who fills a “need” than a good player? B. Is #17 high in the draft?

A. Obviously not… but I’d rather take a player that fills a need with less talent than a player that we don’t need at all who might be marginally better. I look at both, but favor need more. Doesn’t mean I’d draft a scrub if he’s the next best available center.

B. Meant low, sorry. I can see taking talent above all else (ie: drafting John Wall last year even if you’ve got a good PG) if you’re in the early lottery.

Degree Absolute:
The player I think the Knicks should target is Tyler Honeycutt from UCLA.As far as I can tell, the only major knock on him is that he is skinny.He is very athletic, versatile and actually tries on D.His offensive game is improving and he is a very good passer.He is only 20 and every scouting report I have seen raves about his bball IQ.

Interesting thought.

Especially when you consider the growing body of evidence which suggests that UCLA players under Howland tend to make a significant leap, statistically, in the NBA. Westbrook, Love, Collison, Holiday, and Afflalo are the most notable examples of ex-Bruins who have far outplayed their projections.

That being said, where would you play Honeycutt? I’m not sure if he’s really a good fit for this Knicks team. The UCLA player I’d keep my eye on is Malcolm Lee, one of the best perimeter defenders in college hoops last year. If that’s all he ever turned out to be as a pro, he’d still be a great pickup for NY. But if he exhibits the same growth spurt, offensively, seen in other former Bruins, he could be a steal in the late first/early second (where he’s projected to go)