Isiah slams Greg Anthony

[shemp]

[ QUOTE ]
Wasn't the whole argument about the pick that you could have waited till the 2nd round to draft him?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. The fact that he's crowing and the manner in which he's crowing is perfect.

I'm curious about: "the audacity to take me to task on a player that I'm pretty sure he had never seen before in his life" -- I'd love to know if Isaiah had seen him other than the NIT.

[Assani Fisher]

I think Phoenix would've taken him in the first round if the Knicks didn't.

[Green Kool Aid]

[ QUOTE ]
I think Phoenix would've taken him in the first round if the Knicks didn't.

[/ QUOTE ]

word. not only that, but this is from chad ford's latest article...

[ QUOTE ]
But Balkman hasn't been the bust everyone expected, either. He's hustled, played good defense and brought some passion to the Knicks.

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haters seriously need to STFU.

[niss]

Seriously, you don't know what you're talking about.

The Phoenix thing was the Knicks' spin after the pick. It was widely reported that the Knicks grabbed Balkman in the first round to keep him from being drafted by Phoenix.

When they asked Phoenix about this, Phoenix said that not only weren't they going to take him in the 1st round, but that they weren't going to take him in the 2nd round either.

So you can keep typing all you want about how the guy is not a bust (that's a real keen item -- to be praised because your first rounder is not a bust). But they could have had him AND had Marcus Williams, who fulfilled somewhat of a need.

[niss]

I'll do an ounce of research for you as well. This is from the Balkman page on Wiki:

The Knicks' choice of Balkman in the first round surprised many, notably ESPN's Jay Bilas, who noted that a projected lottery pick (Marcus Williams) was still available. ESPN columnist Bill Simmons, among others, joked that perhaps Isiah Thomas thought he was drafting Rolando Blackman, a former Knicks player.[2] There was further controversy when the Knicks' general manager, Isiah Thomas, claimed that the Phoenix Suns were prepared to take him; the Suns claimed that he wasn't even "on [their] radar". In the NBA's official draft guide, which was released to all reporters covering the draft, Balkman was not included in the list of the 300 top players eligible to be drafted in the 2006-07 rookie class. However, the Knicks selected Balkman with their first of two draft picks, which was 20th overall.

[Green Kool Aid]

niss---this was the weakest draft since the year k-mart went 1 overall, and see my above posts about #20 picks. i will repeat, where this is NOT the nfl, and you arent expected to get starters in the first round.

also, they have marbury and franchise to man the point. q-rich will get injured soon enough, jared jefferies IS injured, and jalen rose is not an NBA rotation player at this point in his career.

i'm not an isiah defender. the eddy curry trade might be one of the worst five trades in nba history, and trading for francis was pretty horrendous as well. however, they were looking for a defensive minded wing player to mesh with their offensive talents and set a precedent of hustle/defense.

considering that the next like 7 picks were point guards (besides josh boone who sucks), i don't see the issue with this pick.

[CharlieDontSurf]

[ QUOTE ]
I think Phoenix would've taken him in the first round if the Knicks didn't.

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doubtful..phx was dead set on trading their picks for $$$

[CharlieDontSurf]

The issue is you could have drafted Marcus Williams..then picked him with your 2nd first round pick or even yr 2nd rounder

[niss]

Charlie states the issue accurately. No need to re-state it again here.

But I'd add that neither Marbury nor Francis are true point guards. They are shoot-first guards. The Knicks lack a true point guard, other than Nate Robinson, in whom I don't think they have all that much confidence yet. Marcus Williams would have been a good addition. Face it -- would you rather have Balkman and M. Williams, or Balkman and Mardy Collins? How many "projects" do the Knicks need?

Even Balkman's coach (Dave Odom?) said that he was shocked Balkman got picked in the first round.

[Green Kool Aid]

stephon marbury has averaged over 8 assists/game for his career.

also...marcus williams is horribly slow and not that strong. guarding the nba pick and roll will be nearly impossible for him. the inability of a point guard to do this starts the breakdown of the entire defense.

in all honesty, i would have taken rondo or shannon brown, but balkman will be a rotation player for years to come.

from the lottery alone, hes a far better player than redick, and saer sene and patrick o'bryant probably won't be seeing significant floortime for a long time, but you dont hear people ripping on their management.

IMO the magic passing on ronnie brewer was by far the most egregious mistake of the draft, but w/e, it's all water under the bridge now.