Who Will the New York Knicks Pick in the 2014 draft?

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The draft is 5 days away. This is speculated to be the best draft class since 2003 and it is disappointing for the New York Knicks organization that they do not have a pick in this draft. Regardless Phil Jackson has announced his desire to go after a late first round pick or a second round pick. The talent in this draft is so high that there can be solid to great talent as the draft board moves up on draft night. Phil Jackson is a wise man and he will have a large input on the kind of player he is looking to draft.

To try and get a better perspective at who the Knicks are most likely to pick lets break it down a bit. The Knicks have 4 point guards, 3 shooting guards, 1 small forward, 4 power forwards, and 3 centers.

Centers

The Knick centers are Cole Aldrich, Andrea Bargnani, and Tyson Chandler. Tyson Chandler could be a valuable trade piece, but the Knicks are not at all likely to trade him seeing how his contract is ending after the next season which will really take a load off on their salary cap. Andrea Bargnani is another that the Knicks will not be able to move, not only because he is an mediocre overpaid player, but because his large contract is ending at the end of next season as well freeing up their cap space even more for the 2015 free agency. As for Cole Aldrich he will not be moved unless he ends up in a trade deal with a team that has a mid-late first round pick which Phil Jackson has claimed to be targeting. 3 Centers is enough for the season even if one of them (Andrea Bargnani) may not play so much because of his lack of defense and the failing of being able to live up to his number one pick. Drafting a center is a possibility if they decide to draft someone who they see to have more upside and defensive capabilities than Aldrich to help Chandler off the bench, but if not then do not expect them to draft a big man in the upcoming draft.

Power Forwards

Their power forwards are Jeremy Tyler, Kenyon Martin, Lamar Odom, and Amare stoudemire. The Knicks will not trade Amare Stoudemire because he has a massive 23 million dollar contract ending next season as part of their plans for rebuilding as they plan to free up cap space to tackle the 2015 free agency. Kenyon Martin and Lamar Odom are not worth trading for any team considering their age and ability. As for Jeremy Tyler he is a work in progress and the Knicks are trying to build on talent or else they would not be aiming for a draft pick, as low as the pick may be. Tyler is the best power forward on the bench and a valuable prospect so do not expect to hear or see him in a trade. Still, seeing as they have 4 power forwards for this season, there is not a high possibility that they will pick a power forward in this years draft.

Small Forwards

Carmelo Anthony is the one and only small forward on the Knicks team. If you follow the Knicks you know that he may opt out of his contract on Monday to enter free agency. Anthony is the only one on the team listed originally as a small forward, but Iman Shumpert can play both the 2 and 3 position. Nonetheless, for now their main priority is to recapture Anthony in free agency to once again be the face and leader of the team. Even if Anthony returns to the Knicks, they still have only one original small froward which means that there is a good possibility that they will pick a small forward as his backup to alleviate some of his minutes.

Shooting Guards

The shooting guard are Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith, and Tim Hardaway Jr. Tim Hardaway is a young prospect who got drafted just last year and came off of an acceptable rookie season. Phil Jackson now being at the head of team management knows that to be a good team you have to develop and like I said they would not be trying to get a draft pick if rebuilding was not on their to do list. This means that Hardaway will be with the Knicks next season. Smith is another player who will be on the team next year. His contract is not ending and even if he were up for trade, there may not be too many teams, if any to offer the Knicks a good looking trade deal on draft night. That leaves Shumpert in the shooting guard slot. Shumpert unlike the other two guards mentioned before actually has the possibility of being moved. He is still on his rookie contract which means that the price for him is not particularly high. He could be traded for pick, but there is also a good possibility that he will stay. If he stays that is likely because Phil Jackson likes his defense and believes that he too can work successfully in the triangle offense. Even if they were to trade Shumpert for a player (of a different position) and a pick, the Knicks will still be left with two capable shooting guard, which means drafting someone from the shooting guards position is not likely to be high on their list.

Point Guards

The Knicks have 4 point guards who are Raymond Felton, Pablo Prigioni, Shannon Brown and Toure Murry. You may ask ,well is that not enough point guards for a team? It would be, but if you watched the Knicks and learned one thing, it is that their point guards is not their most prominent of all the positions. Toure Murry is actually a pretty good point guard, yet he has not received much playing time for the Knicks. His shooting stroke needs work, but he is an unselfish player with great speed (useful for fast breaks) who can smoothly penetrate an opponents defense for the shot attempt or a quick pass out. Murry’s contract is at an end and according to espn.go.com there are many teams that have shown an interest in him. The Knicks can make him a restricted agent so that they can match any offer sheet, but should they choose not to, they will risk loosing their most potential point guard. Shannon Brown is a mediocre point guard who does not score efficiently and is not known to be even close to that of a great passer. On top of that he has been in the league for seven years, so he is not like some of the younger guys in terms of waiting to see his developmental process and seeing what type of player he can mold into.

Pablo Prigioni is smart pass first point guard who plays well coming off the bench. He does not fill up the stat sheet, but he gets the ball moving and the offense flowing. The main problem with Prigioni is not only that he sometimes passes up shots that he should take, but he is 37 years old and does not have as much in the tank as the younger guys. As for Raymond Felton, Phil Jackson has expressed that he does not want Raymond Felton on the roster for next season and that he should expect to be traded. If you know the about the winner Phil Jackson is and the type of point guard Raymond Felton is then you will not have to hear it From Jackson’s mouth to believe it. The only problem to that is the remaining question, who is going to take him? I personally do not know, but whoever may pick him up is probably a team who us just looking for a point guard off the bench. Having said all this, no one listed as point guard on the Knicks roster has established himself as a worthy starter. The best choice as of now would be Toure Murry given his speed, athleticism, and passing ability, but even if he were to start they would need better backups than Prigioni and Brown.

Overall Analysis

Seeing how it makes no sense to draft a player for a position that they have enough of, and how it makes sense to draft and see what you can get to patch up the most vulnerable position on the roster, I say that the Knicks will end up drafting a small forward or point guard in this years draft.