The 2014-15 NBA season has officially come to a close; a new champion has been anointed and the draft has concluded. The end of the NBA season is also the unofficial start of the worst five weeks in a sports fan's life as it is the slowest and quietest period of the year. There are some fairly minimal NBA trades that get done and there will be some free agent news to follow; however, there is little drama to this offseason with only Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge creating much intrigue.
This is the fitting time of the year to sum up the NBA draft and profile the incoming lottery selections. eDraft Sports has highlighted the best sleeper picks of the draft and now we move into more in depth analysis of each lottery selection. Granted any true reflection on these players would be much better served after at least a couple seasons of experience; however, we will offer initial reviews and projections for the upcoming season.
Continuing our NBA Draft profiles, the New York Knicks saw themselves on the clock and holding onto the fourth overall pick. The top three prospects were already off the board in Karl Anthony Towns, D'Angelo Russell and Jahlil Okafor and the Knicks were faced with a big decision here. There is no doubt that they would have preferred to have one of the aforementioned three guys be available here, but they ultimately had to play the hand they were dealt now as the clock was ticking.
There were probably a lot of phone calls and proposed trades coming in for this pick as some teams may have wanted to move up in order to draft their guy here. It stands to reason that the prospect that most teams would have been wanting here was Kristaps Porzingis who came into this draft as the top rated European player and one that many scouts speculated to have the most potential in the entire draft class. Scouts, coaches and teammates were all raving about this kids potential and all agreed that given the time to mature and acclimate that he would be in a position to excel at the NBA game. Not that draft pundits and scouts alike haven't over valued prospects before that have flopped spectacularly; however, the overwhelming consensus here was that Porzingis was a can't miss prospect who could potentially even validate a first overall pick someday.
In New York, Phil Jackson really couldn't afford to miss on this pick. He certainly had the pressure from ownership, the fan base and his franchise player to either parlay this pick into some immediate help or select an NBA ready player who will fit the triangle offence and help propel the Knicks back into the playoffs.
Phil Jackson and his executives ultimately decided to make the selection and they went ahead and took Porzingis here. This pick was widely criticized by media outlets, fans in attendance and by Carmelo Anthony who took to social media to express his displeasure. Many thought that Jackson might have targeted Justise Winslow here, as he could have provided some perimeter help, upgraded the defense and been ready to play right away. While all these things are true, Winslow slid down the draft considerably which leads one to belief that perhaps his pre-draft workouts showed something that didn't sit well with the coaching staffs.
Porzingis fits the triangle offense well and should see a significant role within it, as he is deemed to be an excellent moving big man who possesses small forward type mobility, ball handling and decision making skills. Porzingis has a sweet shooting stroke with a very fluid and high release point. For those who haven't seen clips of him play, imagine a Dirk Nowitzki quick release with a Kevin Durant release point; it is virtually unblockable.
Everyone readily admits that Porzingis is a couple seasons away from really being an impact player for the Knicks and this probably suits the franchise just fine as Carmelo Anthony is on the tail fend of his career and isn't exactly known for his ball sharing capabilities. Given time Porzingis could step into a prominent role for the Knicks at just the right time to transition Anthony and that contract out the door.
The next couple seasons will be telling for Porzingis' future as he needs to add some muscle to his frame without sacrificing his mobility. He also must develop his off-hand, as he is currently very right hand dominant. Once he becomes a more physical player who is capable of taking his defender off the dribble and attacking the rim with both hands he could become a very special player for the Knicks. Should Porzingis become content on trying make a career by lofting jumpers and playing away from the basket then it will only be a matter of time before he too could be labeled as another import-bust prospect in the Association.