Disclaimer: I've become a huge Porzingis fan, so much so that I prefer we trade my all-time favorite Knick (Melo) for prospects and picks to jump start a rebuild around him. Also, if your only response to the following is essentially "what's the point in talking about this", kindly walk to the top of the Empire State building and dismount. That being said...
I wonder if we could've built a better team had we simply traded down in that draft with the Magic and Celtics. The Magic were huge fans of Porzingis' and I they would've given up their 5th pick and assets to move up to 4th for him. Meanwhile, the Celtics were enarmored with Justise Winslow and were alleged to be willing to surrender 4 first round picks for the opportunity to draft him (the 3rd pick in the 2016 draft, the 16th and 28th picks of the 2015 draft and a yet to be determined 4th pick). When you consider how the draft unfolded, we could potentially have satisfied their respective interests and walked away with a bounty from just the one asset.
So I have to ask: Did we make the right decision? Would it have made more sense given our interest to win-now under Melo's timeline? What would that Magic deal have looked like?
KP already has done things statistically that no rookie has done before, in the league, or as a member of the Knicks. Thats good enough for me to say that Porzingis was worth the 4th pick.
To answer some of my own questions...
Given 20/20 hindsight, I don't think I'd do the deal. The reality is that Porzingis is a generational talent, which is the first and most important piece to build a legitimate contender. But on the draft night, given how I felt about him being unready to make an immediate impact (or live up to the hype) I think I would've traded down and try to recoup as many assets as possible. It seemed like the safer thing to do and would have better positioned us to make other moves for veterans to surround Melo with.
As for the Magic deal, I would've tried my damnedest to offload Calderon's contract in exchange for a serviceable player or expirer AND the 5th pick. Heningan was sold on Porzingis since the 2014 draft and was rumored to be willing to draft him 12th instead of making the Dario Saric deal that inevitably brought Elfrid Payton to Orlando. Knowing that, I think it stands to reason that Channing Frye, the 5th pick and possibly Andrew Nicholson or Mo Harkless for Calderon and Porzingis would be something he'd jump at.
If that deal were made, I'd take Winslow at 5 and then trade him for the Celtics package and draft the following:
2015
16th: Bobby Portis
19th: Jerian Grant
28th: RJ Hunter
2016
3rd: Kris Dunn
Skal Labessire (if that 4th pick was in the 2016 draft)
None of these guys (as well as Channing Frye and Andrew Nicholson/Mo Harkless) project to sway a game to the extent Porzingis will but would still form the basis for a pretty intriguing team. I wonder how they'd all mesh on the floor with Melo...
NardDogNation wrote:To answer some of my own questions...Given 20/20 hindsight, I don't think I'd do the deal. The reality is that Porzingis is a generational talent, which is the first and most important piece to build a legitimate contender. But on the draft night, given how I felt about him being unready to make an immediate impact (or live up to the hype) I think I would've traded down and try to recoup as many assets as possible. It seemed like the safer thing to do and would have better positioned us to make other moves for veterans to surround Melo with.
As for the Magic deal, I would've tried my damnedest to offload Calderon's contract in exchange for a serviceable player or expirer AND the 5th pick. Heningan was sold on Porzingis since the 2014 draft and was rumored to be willing to draft him 12th instead of making the Dario Saric deal that inevitably brought Elfrid Payton to Orlando. Knowing that, I think it stands to reason that Channing Frye, the 5th pick and possibly Andrew Nicholson or Mo Harkless for Calderon and Porzingis would be something he'd jump at.
If that deal were made, I'd take Winslow at 5 and then trade him for the Celtics package and draft the following:
2015
16th: Bobby Portis
19th: Jerian Grant
28th: RJ Hunter
2016
3rd: Kris Dunn
Skal Labessire (if that 4th pick was in the 2016 draft)
None of these guys (as well as Channing Frye and Andrew Nicholson/Mo Harkless) project to sway a game to the extent Porzingis will but would still form the basis for a pretty intriguing team. I wonder how they'd all mesh on the floor with Melo...
Fantasy basketball rules!!!
Porzingis' franchise talent is too great to say any other scenario could compare. Finding good players in the draft isn't hard. Finding generational players to build around for the next 12+ years is one of the hardest things to accomplish.
