Why the Knicks’ point guard woes in the NBA Draft have been overstated
Much has been made of the Knicks’ inability to draft a cornerstone at the point guard, but just how many opportunities did they even have? Collin Loring takes a look back with hindsight to see if the Knicks have really screwed up that bad at drafting point guards.
I was at a Baltimore Orioles home matchup with the Cleveland Indians, stuffing my face with a hotdog and following it up with a Coca-Cola out of a Camden Yards souvenir cup. Underage at the time, I’m afraid beer was not an option. 2017 was the year.
The text from my friend Jordan came through before the tweet notification from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Back then he didn’t so freely tease the boundaries of his all-seeing-eye insider status with tweets announcing draft picks before they were, you know — actually announced live by NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
“Ntilikina to the Knicks,” read the text. I swiftly replied with the proper curse words. Because there is no age requirement for being pissed off at this franchise.
If you’re familiar with that draft class, then you remember that it was Dennis Smith Jr. New York passed up on, and as is so often recalled — after asking him to eat octopus! Fast forward to today, and both guards play for the Knicks, but more importantly…
…neither became the franchise point guard their arguing parties elected them to be. If anything, those two are trying to keep their heads above the water, and fighting for their future in the league, period. Yet, despite what many fans would lead you to believe, I’m not sure the Knicks' failing efforts to land a point guard year after year in the NBA Draft is entirely on the front office. When you go back and look at the draft boards they were faced with, point guards taken before New York got on the clock — or that they passed up on — also haven’t necessarily panned out as capable franchise-shouldering point guards. Let’s check in on a few of the more notable names.
We’ll start a few years back, but this problem goes back a decade, and then some.
In the 2015 NBA Draft...
New York selected Kristaps Porzingis with the fourth overall pick.
Notable point guards they missed out on: D’Angelo Russell, who went second overall to the Lakers (remember when they were like, really bad?), and Emmanuel Mudiay, who went seventh overall to the Nuggets (and later played for NYK).
Is D-Lo a franchise point guard? It’s still too soon to tell.
Best point guard of the draft class: Russell, by a mile.
This draft was just rough as a whole for teams who were in need of a savior, like the Knicks. It’s produced a number of rotation NBA players, sure, but when you’re talking franchise guys, it’s just Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker that stand out. Russell is good, and he’s been an All-Star (an injury substitution, notably), but the jury is still out on whether or not he can carry a team. His time with the Brooklyn Nets was fun, but is it the system or the player to credit? It’s not yet time to rule him out, as he’s now a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves next to Towns. But this season will be a good indicator as to what his future in the NBA is going to look like in the years to come.
Notice anything? Kristaps Porzingis isn’t on that list. And I don’t think that’s a hot take.
He’s a great talent when he’s healthy, a guy that can get you 15 and 10 on any given night, with a couple of blocks too. But his injury status hasn’t left the forefront of anyone’s mind, especially not mine. He’s played just 105 games over the last two seasons, which is a solid 52.5 game average. His time with New York was brief, but with Dallas he’ll definitely be making appearances in the playoffs (even if only watching from the sidelines), something that’s never been guaranteed for the Knicks. I included Russell above because teams can always push their trade chips into the middle of the table if they are committed to a prospect’s ceiling and potential future. New York met with Russell after he canceled a meeting with Philadelphia, but there were no reports that suggested they truly considered drafting the guard, who ultimately went before they were on the board at fourth overall. It’s safe to say that this draft wasn’t going to, and still probably won’t, end up having provided a franchise point guard.
In the 2017 NBA Draft…
New York selected Frank Ntilikina with the eighth overall pick.
Notable point guards they passed on: Dennis Smith Jr., who went ninth overall to Dallas, and Monte Morris, who went 51st overall to Denver.
Are either of those two franchise point guards? That’s a negative.
Best point guard of the draft class: De’Aaron Fox, who went fifth overall to the Kings.
New York walked into the 2017 draft looking for a second youth to pair with Kristaps Porzingis, a duo they’d hoped to foster in the years to come. It’s worth noting this is the first of recent years where point guard was the firm priority. The Knicks looked at all three of Dennis Smith Jr., Frank Ntilikina, and De’Aaron Fox (as well as shooting guard Malik Monk) as options for the eighth pick.
They didn’t walk out with the worst guard in that trio — at this point, presumably Smith — but definitely didn’t land the top one. Ntilikina’s busted in almost every area of the game, aside from his astute defense, which has won over fans and, in most cases, elected him as a fan favorite. And while I understand why fans fetishize him (we’re officially in that territory, don’t lie) how many more seasons are we supposed to continue this charade? Why not just acknowledge that Ntilikina is far more likely to end up a high-level rotation guy with a knack for defense that will always have a home in the NBA? I’m sorry I had to be the one to tell you this, friends, but he’s not the answer at point guard.
Elsewhere, Fox just signed a max extension with the Sacramento Kings for a whopping $163 million. Ntilikina would be lucky to earn that in his entire career, but that doesn’t mean the Knicks are necessarily worse off without him. Fox and the Kings haven’t made the playoffs in his entire tenure, something that may force a gap between his relations with the front office should their plights continue. The franchise players in this draft didn’t come at the point guard position, and anyone talking about this class for years to come won’t do so without mentioning Donovan Mitchell, who slipped to 13th overall.
Albeit not purely a point guard, he’s become the face of Utah Jazz basketball, and quickly. Mitchell left last season’s playoffs with an average of 36.3 points and 4.9 assists per game. The performance rightfully earned him a max contract extension priced out at the equivalent of Fox’s. But as a CAA client, expect New York to keep an eye on the guard out West. Again, the odds weren’t in the Knicks’ favor in this draft, but it’s hard to say just how different things would be with Fox or Mitchell at the helm.
In the 2018 NBA Draft…
New York selected Kevin Knox with the ninth overall pick.
Notable point guards they missed out/passed on: Trae Young, who went fifth overall to the Hawks; Collin Sexton, who went eight overall to the Cavaliers; and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who went 11th overall to the Clippers (even if he’s proven to be more of a combo guard).
Are either of those franchise point guards? Trae Young is doing well, yep. Gilgeous-Alexander is also thriving.
Best point guard of the draft class: Trae.
This draft class was more of an unknown, similar to the most recent in 2020. Still, the Knicks were within earshot of two point guards with their ninth overall selection. As much as I was dismayed by their previous drafting of Ntilikina, I admittedly couldn’t have been more excited about seeing Kevin Knox in a New York Knicks uniform: a Kentucky forward with scoring potential on all three levels with a wingspan that provides some positive outlook defensively, not to mention his Summer League performance that captured all of our hearts. And if you say it didn’t, I know you’re lying.
The two aforementioned point guards ended up in Atlanta and Cleveland, respectively. But rest assured, despite his knack for scoring, I highly doubt Collin Sexton could have replicated the same growth from a terrible first year to where he stands today in New York. And Trae Young, he’s a generational talent at worst. But his fourth year in the league has suddenly become a make-or-break campaign; and you could feel the sense of urgency from Hawks ownership to return to the playoffs in their free agency acquisitions. Young’s passing ability would have likely solved some problems for the Knicks, but his overall inefficiency on the defensive end wouldn’t have helped the team. He alone would give them the best chance as a potential franchise cornerstone, but it’s hard to say whether or not New York would put together the supporting cast he needs.
Gilgeous-Alexander will probably go down as one of those all-time misses for the Knicks (and every other team that let him slip to pick 11), but at the time, he profiled somewhat similarly to Ntilikina, and the Knicks were clearly prioritizing a wing (outside of Trae, who they scouted extensively and had in for a workout in case he fell to No. 9). Even so, whether SGA is a franchise point guard is at least somewhat in doubt… he’s probably more of a scoring combo guard. Guess we’ll see how he does fully running the show in Oklahoma City this year.
In the 2019 NBA Draft…
New York selected RJ Barrett with the third overall pick.
Notable point guards they missed/passed up on: Ja Morant, who went second overall to Memphis; Darius Garland, who went fifth overall to Cleveland; and Coby White, who went seventh overall to Chicago.
Are any of those franchise point guards? Morant is already at this level, but it’s too early to say on Garland and White.
Best point guard of the draft class: Ja Morant.
The 2019 NBA Draft was decided for the New York Knicks and the rest of the NBA from the jump, or the moment the New Orleans Pelicans won the draft lottery, earning them the No. 1 overall pick. Zion Williamson was the clear-cut first selection, and behind him, it would be either RJ Barrett or Ja Morant to follow at second and third.
With the Memphis Grizzlies ahead of the Knicks at second, in the aftermath of Mike Conley’s (their franchise point guard of 12 years) exit to Utah, they made the perfect match for Morant — the eventual 2019 Rookie of the Year. Thus, New York was left with multiple options: a) select RJ Barrett, the best remaining prospect, or b) trade down and earn multiple/future first-round picks as compensation. They elected for the former, and just one season later, it has proved a just and right decision. Barrett had a strong rookie season given the circumstances in New York. He finished the year having played a total of 56 games and averaged 14.3 points, five rebounds, 2.6 assists, and one steal nightly.
Aside from Morant, none of Darius Garland, Jarrett Culver, or Coby White have yet to offer signs that they too can be a legitimate number one option or franchise cornerstone. The Knicks went with the best player available for the first time since drafting Kristaps Porzingis back in 2015, and thus far, it’s paid off. Should they have shied away from the plan and taken one of the aforementioned point guards? Only time can tell, but time is already letting on that the answer to that question is probably no.
So, what’s all this mean for the New York Knicks?
Admittedly, very little. But over the last few years the #KnicksForClicks crowd has gotten way too loud for my taste, and yours as well I’m sure. These jokes and poorly-worded tweets solely crafted for an extra couple hundred of likes and/or aggregation are merely tasteless, an expected waste of 240 characters. And I say that knowing the calls of bias that will no doubt follow. But in this case specifically, even without the evidence that I provided above, can you honestly blame Jim Dolan and his carousel cast of carnie executives for not having found a point guard throughout the draft process?
It’s like buying stock shares, or last minute changes in fantasy football: unpredictable, untoward, and flat out unforgiving…
…unless you’re among the best of the business. And I’m fairly certain that we’re all mindful of where the New York Knicks’ front office has stood in that regard.
“Click” that for data. Or something.
