Knicks · 2026 Draft (6/23 & 6/24) (page 12)

also I am not a fan of aday mara at all.

For all the hype of his passing, you would think he has some elite bbiq. but this guy ball watches so much on defense

my gut says Chris Senac is going much higher than ppl suspect. legit movement skills at C and already shoots 3s.

I don't know a damn thing about this draft and I get a feeling we will trade both picks for cap purposes. No Center at 24 or 31 is capable of replacing what Mitch does for us anyway.

SergioNYK wrote:I don't know a damn thing about this draft and I get a feeling we will trade both picks for cap purposes. No Center at 24 or 31 is capable of replacing what Mitch does for us anyway.

i agree, we are WIN NOW and if we resign our guys we have all we need to WIN NOW, so maybe kicking those picks down the road is best, replenish the 5 Mikal picks a bit.

because really, even the young guys we already have will struggle to get time

Weirdest draft prep ever considering we have 3 picks. We won a title and only a 1-week turnaround but many of us don’t expect the Knicks to come out of the draft with significant prospects. Time will tell. 2 days.

Knixkik wrote:Weirdest draft prep ever considering we have 3 picks. We won a title and only a 1-week turnaround but many of us don’t expect the Knicks to come out of the draft with significant prospects. Time will tell. 2 days.

Brunson, Mitch and Deuce were early 2nd rd picks. Shamet and Hart late 1st rd picks. Jordan Clarkson was a 2nd rounder. Alvarado was undrafted. That’s seven rotation players all drafted in the range of our picks this year. Diawara is projecting as a rotation player from the back end of the 2nd td. McCuller has a chance to be a contributor this coming season and Kolek and Hukporti have been plug and play as necessary.

Zuby ! And tarris reed jr . All the other guys are projects or more what if’s . Now if someone downfalls from the lotto like that kid from Arkansas… he might be worth a waiver … Evan’s, Thomas and some of the other guys don’t move the needle for me …

Even if we resign Mitch I still want tarris reed jr who is an old school defensive big, and if huk is gone we need a backup to Mitch…he also is a play now player.

Zuby would get minutes right off the bat . The guy is a defensive stud and his bball iq is through the roof … a bigger longer josh hart . He’s like if Mitch and Josh had a baby.

Zuby is my number one for 24 . He just has that it factor that I don’t see from other guys in that part of the draft.

I’m definitely a sunny-sider and think we’re in Great position. We’ve done great in this portion of the draft frankly getting better players around here than we have in the lottery. We can draft a player(s) with zero pressure on contributing immediately. We can contribute to a pipeline and will have internal competition for the limited slots. Everyone on the bench will know they need to train and focus that much harder all off season.

nycericanguy wrote:

SergioNYK wrote:I don't know a damn thing about this draft and I get a feeling we will trade both picks for cap purposes. No Center at 24 or 31 is capable of replacing what Mitch does for us anyway.

i agree, we are WIN NOW and if we resign our guys we have all we need to WIN NOW, so maybe kicking those picks down the road is best, replenish the 5 Mikal picks a bit.

because really, even the young guys we already have will struggle to get time

Key word being “if” we resign our guys

If Diawara isn’t willing to accept a salary of $2.185M we can’t sign him and keep Mitch. We might be able to keep Diawara and Shamet but even that is dicey

fitzfarm wrote:Zuby ! And tarris reed jr . All the other guys are projects or more what if’s . Now if someone downfalls from the lotto like that kid from Arkansas… he might be worth a waiver … Evan’s, Thomas and some of the other guys don’t move the needle for me …

Even if we resign Mitch I still want tarris reed jr who is an old school defensive big, and if huk is gone we need a backup to Mitch…he also is a play now player.

Zuby would get minutes right off the bat . The guy is a defensive stud and his bball iq is through the roof … a bigger longer josh hart . He’s like if Mitch and Josh had a baby.

Zuby is my number one for 24 . He just has that it factor that I don’t see from other guys in that part of the draft.

Agreed. I would love Zuby at 24 and Reed at 31. Zuby is going to be super valuable as a small ball 5 who can guard bigs and as a 4 who can guard the perimeter

PatCummings wrote:

fitzfarm wrote:Zuby ! And tarris reed jr . All the other guys are projects or more what if’s . Now if someone downfalls from the lotto like that kid from Arkansas… he might be worth a waiver … Evan’s, Thomas and some of the other guys don’t move the needle for me …

Even if we resign Mitch I still want tarris reed jr who is an old school defensive big, and if huk is gone we need a backup to Mitch…he also is a play now player.

Zuby would get minutes right off the bat . The guy is a defensive stud and his bball iq is through the roof … a bigger longer josh hart . He’s like if Mitch and Josh had a baby.

Zuby is my number one for 24 . He just has that it factor that I don’t see from other guys in that part of the draft.

Agreed. I would love Zuby at 24 and Reed at 31. Zuby is going to be super valuable as a small ball 5 who can guard bigs and as a 4 who can guard the perimeter

I think he’s going to be similar to Paul Reed, which is a nice get in that range.

We are definitely in the market for a big, a shooter and maybe an additional ball handler...

Options @ 24:

Bennett Stirtz - (if we lose Shamet). Elite shooter and is really good at running PNR. He may go before 24, but if he's there, he should be at the top of our board.

Maleek Thomas - Very young and needs experience, but is a good shooter/athlete. Needs lots of seasoning, though. Not sure he will be ready next year.

Zuby Ejiofor - Relentless motor and one the of the best offensive rebounders in the country. Can make the open college three from the top of the key but not sure if he can hit the NBA 3.

Henri Vesaar - Stretch-5 but not the rim protector we would need if we lose Mitch.

@ 31

If Brazile is there, he is very intriguing. Potential is off the charts!!

Uptown wrote:We are definitely in the market for a big, a shooter and maybe an additional ball handler...

Options @ 24:

Bennett Stirtz - (if we lose Shamet). Elite shooter and is really good at running PNR. He may go before 24, but if he's there, he should be at the top of our board.

Maleek Thomas - Very young and needs experience, but is a good shooter/athlete. Needs lots of seasoning, though. Not sure he will be ready next year.

Zuby Ejiofor - Relentless motor and one the of the best offensive rebounders in the country. Can make the open college three from the top of the key but not sure if he can hit the NBA 3.

Henri Vesaar - Stretch-5 but not the rim protector we would need if we lose Mitch.

@ 31

If Brazile is there, he is very intriguing. Potential is off the charts!!

I prefer Okorie over Stirtz. Was one of the leading scorers in the country as a freshman with a 6’8” wingspan on D

Love Zuby. He’s going to keep improving from 3 and has star potential as a 4/5 who can score, pass and guard 1-5

I like Tarris Reed bc he’s ready to contribute day 1. But don’t love that he can’t shoot

I don’t think we need another shooter / wing depending on who comes back. I’d like to keep Diawara and add McCullar to the team this year. And we still have Dadiet.

When we did draft players during the Rose regime instead of moving the picks did they ever pick guys you were interested in?

Odds are anything that happens Tuesday and Wednesday will be unexpected

trading 24 would be such a huge mistake

we shouldn't even trade 31

bc this team will have so few opportunities the next 3 years (remaining championship window) to have get a new player onto the roster that has potential upside.

I don’t think we are trading picks this year … we are strapped and these 2 picks fill up cheap roster spots … this team needs cheap good players and picking a player like zuby is better than some of the more expensive vet options that we can’t even afford. Plus it builds out our young core .

Kolek
McBride
Mo, pacome
Zuby
Tarris reed jr

That’s youth that will all contribute and with a few that could become starters in a few years …

This roster needs flexibility

Moving on from Mitch, Jose, Shamet sucks
But we have a core of youth that is on the brink of being an upgrade if developed properly.

That’s what good teams do.

And even PAC has potential to be really really good … and the other thing is that’s 6 cheap roster spots and you can spend the money to keep the core intact.

Mitch is the one that would be sad to loose he’s our guy and a great grit player. But we need him to take a pay cut and I don’t see that happening.

Love big country Mitch!

9.6 rebs per game in 27 mins has me intrigued. Possible pick at 55.

Also 1.6stls & 1.4blks per game.

BlueKnickers wrote:When we did draft players during the Rose regime instead of moving the picks did they ever pick guys you were interested in?

Odds are anything that happens Tuesday and Wednesday will be unexpected

I know I’m Not really answering your question but the Knicks tend to draft the players they are linked to but move around a lot to extract value while still landing those players. Best examples are when they had 19 and 21 in 2022 they were heavily linked to both Grimes and McBride but moved back with both picks and still got both players. 2 years ago they were linked to kolek in the first round, moved around and got him in the 2nd. And if they can’t get a player they are linked to (Ivey or Duarte) they either trade back or trade out.

Players they have been linked to are Ejiofor, meelek Thomas, Sergio de Larrea (CAA client) and Isaiah Evans. So I think logically they end up with at least one these players but it’s unknown if it will be where they draft or after they move around the board via trade.

So they have been most connected to Ejiofor. Do they just grab him at 24? Or more likely move back from 24 to let’s say 28 and pick up an extra second round pick and get him ? Or is he there at 31 and they just trade out of 24 altogether? Those are the things they look at during the draft instead of simply taking the player they want at the picks they have.

Knixkik wrote:

BlueKnickers wrote:When we did draft players during the Rose regime instead of moving the picks did they ever pick guys you were interested in?

Odds are anything that happens Tuesday and Wednesday will be unexpected

I know I’m Not really answering your question but the Knicks tend to draft the players they are linked to but move around a lot to extract value while still landing those players. Best examples are when they had 19 and 21 in 2022 they were heavily linked to both Grimes and McBride but moved back with both picks and still got both players. 2 years ago they were linked to kolek in the first round, moved around and got him in the 2nd. And if they can’t get a player they are linked to (Ivey or Duarte) they either trade back or trade out.

Players they have been linked to are Ejiofor, meelek Thomas, Sergio de Larrea (CAA client) and Isaiah Evans. So I think logically they end up with at least one these players but it’s unknown if it will be where they draft or after they move around the board via trade.

So they have been most connected to Ejiofor. Do they just grab him at 24? Or more likely move back from 24 to let’s say 28 and pick up an extra second round pick and get him ? Or is he there at 31 and they just trade out of 24 altogether? Those are the things they look at during the draft instead of simply taking the player they want at the picks they have.

Brock Aller is the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain

PatCummings wrote:

Uptown wrote:We are definitely in the market for a big, a shooter and maybe an additional ball handler...

Options @ 24:

Bennett Stirtz - (if we lose Shamet). Elite shooter and is really good at running PNR. He may go before 24, but if he's there, he should be at the top of our board.

Maleek Thomas - Very young and needs experience, but is a good shooter/athlete. Needs lots of seasoning, though. Not sure he will be ready next year.

Zuby Ejiofor - Relentless motor and one the of the best offensive rebounders in the country. Can make the open college three from the top of the key but not sure if he can hit the NBA 3.

Henri Vesaar - Stretch-5 but not the rim protector we would need if we lose Mitch.

@ 31

If Brazile is there, he is very intriguing. Potential is off the charts!!

I prefer Okorie over Stirtz. Was one of the leading scorers in the country as a freshman with a 6’8” wingspan on D

Love Zuby. He’s going to keep improving from 3 and has star potential as a 4/5 who can score, pass and guard 1-5

I like Tarris Reed bc he’s ready to contribute day 1. But don’t love that he can’t shoot

I don’t think we need another shooter / wing depending on who comes back. I’d like to keep Diawara and add McCullar to the team this year. And we still have Dadiet.

1st...I love your screen name. Pat Cummings, Rory Sparrow, Bernard King, Ray Williams, Trent Tucker, Louis Orr, etc are my earliest memories of the Knicks and when I became a fan as a kid.

I wouldn't be mad if we took Okorie over Stirtz (again, I'm not convinced he will be there at 24). But, the few times I saw him, he seems to be a very high usage player and is at his best with the ball in his hands. I saw Iowa on a handfull of occasions, and feel like Stirtz can play off the ball a little which would be valuable if we lose Shamet. Okorie is a good prospect too....

Uptown wrote:

PatCummings wrote:

Uptown wrote:We are definitely in the market for a big, a shooter and maybe an additional ball handler...

Options @ 24:

Bennett Stirtz - (if we lose Shamet). Elite shooter and is really good at running PNR. He may go before 24, but if he's there, he should be at the top of our board.

Maleek Thomas - Very young and needs experience, but is a good shooter/athlete. Needs lots of seasoning, though. Not sure he will be ready next year.

Zuby Ejiofor - Relentless motor and one the of the best offensive rebounders in the country. Can make the open college three from the top of the key but not sure if he can hit the NBA 3.

Henri Vesaar - Stretch-5 but not the rim protector we would need if we lose Mitch.

@ 31

If Brazile is there, he is very intriguing. Potential is off the charts!!

I prefer Okorie over Stirtz. Was one of the leading scorers in the country as a freshman with a 6’8” wingspan on D

Love Zuby. He’s going to keep improving from 3 and has star potential as a 4/5 who can score, pass and guard 1-5

I like Tarris Reed bc he’s ready to contribute day 1. But don’t love that he can’t shoot

I don’t think we need another shooter / wing depending on who comes back. I’d like to keep Diawara and add McCullar to the team this year. And we still have Dadiet.

1st...I love your screen name. Pat Cummings, Rory Sparrow, Bernard King, Ray Williams, Trent Tucker, Louis Orr, etc are my earliest memories of the Knicks and when I became a fan as a kid.

I wouldn't be mad if we took Okorie over Stirtz (again, I'm not convinced he will be there at 24). But, the few times I saw him, he seems to be a very high usage player and is at his best with the ball in his hands. I saw Iowa on a handfull of occasions, and feel like Stirtz can play off the ball a little which would be valuable if we lose Shamet. Okorie is a good prospect too....

Thanks. Those Knicks are also my first memories. I thought Pat Cummings would get some reactions but you’re the first! I’ve heard that Stanford was really bad this year. Okorie had no choice but to do it all himself. That’s not necessarily who he is.

With the Diawara signing, I fully expect the Knicks to go over the 2nd apron and resign Mitch, Shamet and Alvarado. Assuming we bring McCullar and Huk back on low cost deals, we only have room for 1 draft pick. I’d take Zuby at 24 and trade 31 and 55 for future picks

But Plan B could tweak the roster and add more and upgraded young talent. The Knicks could make a concerted effort to play the youth to develop and assess them. If things work out we can then trade some of our veterans after next season to acquire more draft capital and to get under the 2nd apron a year early. The net effect is improving the team, increasing draft assets and giving us more flexibility to go over the 2nd apron if needed

My plan B draft
- Zuby at 24
- Trade Deuce for a late 20’s pick to grab Tarris Reed
- Trade 31, 55, Huk for a low 20’s pick for Ebuka Okorie

After the season, we can trade Mitch for a 1st knowing Reed is our backup C
We can trade Shamet and Alvarado for a couple of 2nd’s each

Our 2nd team in 27/28 would be:
Kolek/Okorie, McCullar, Diawara, Zuby, Reed and maybe Dadiet is ready to contribute as well

We’d have more picks next year from the trades to acquire more tslent