GARDEN BOUND? Davidson point guard Stephen Curry may find himself wearing a Knicks jersey after the 2009 NBA draft is over. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Here are some of those diamonds in the rough that the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets hope they can find.
Knicks – Pick No. 8
1. Ricky Rubio, 6–4 point guard, Spain
This is a huge reach for the Knicks and likely won’t happen. Rubio won’t fall this far and the Knicks won’t make a move up to get him—but Knicks fans can still dream.
Comparisons are already being made to “Pistol Pete” Maravich with his great ball handling and distributing skills, but Rubio needs to work on his shooting and adding a few pounds to his frame wouldn’t hurt either.
He’d be perfect to run D’Antoni’s fast-paced and point guard-driven system, but he’ll be a top five pick.
2. Steph Curry, 6–3 point guard, junior, Davidson
This is the point guard the Knicks will likely have a chance to get and he’s already said he’d love to play in the Garden. D’Antoni would love to have him play there too.
Curry is a lights-out shooter who’s range is from just about anywhere in the building—former Knicks shooting guard Allan Houston has already predicted he’d be the greatest shooter in Knicks history—and this past season he proved he can run the point. He averaged 28.6 points and 5.6 assists per game at the point when every team’s main focus was to try and slow him down.
Curry has been knocked for not being a true point guard, but part of the reason he was switched to the point was that his coach wanted the ball in his hands more after his team lost a lot of talent and leadership in graduating seniors following Curry’s sophomore year.
And let’s be honest, who did Steph really have to pass it to at Davidson?
3. Jordan Hill, 6–10 power forward, junior, Arizona
If Curry is gone, the Knicks would likely scoop up Hill rather than a different point guard. He has some flaws, but has the size and skills to contribute immediately on the offensive end.
And if David Lee leaves via free agency they would have a replacement, as Hill would be thrown into the fire very early.
Nets – Pick No. 11
1. Terrence Williams, 6–6 shooting guard, senior, Louisville
I know what you’re saying. Way too high to pick him, but the Nets really like Williams, and so do I.
He was a human highlight reel playing point-forward for Rick Pitino and while his scoring average stayed about the same from his sophomore through to senior year, his rebounds, assists, and steals all improved.
The red flag with Williams is his shooting, which isn’t stellar. But shooting is one of the easiest things to improve. You just get him in the gym with your shooting coach and shoot.
Williams has the upside to turn into a great wingman and heir apparent to the aging Vince Carter—or at least the closest thing the Nets will find to that in this draft.
2. Jonny Flynn, 6–0 point guard, sophmore, Syracuse
While the Nets don’t need a point guard with Devin Harris at the helm, this is a point guard-heavy draft and you can never have too many in what’s becoming a point guard-driven league. So if Flynn is still available at the 11th pick, the Nets should take him.
The main issue with Flynn is his size. He’s only 6–0, which is likely a generous measurement, but with the ups he has—a 40-inch vertical—the size isn’t a huge issue.
Flynn is an explosive player with good court vision and playmaking ability. He’s had some trouble with sharing the basketball (a big issue for a point guard), but he should learn to share quickly if he wants to see the court with Harris ahead of him.
3. Tyler Hansbrough, 6–9 power forward, senior, North Carolina
Yup, that’s right. “Psycho T” just outside of the top ten, which would be surprisingly high for one of the best and most decorated college players of all time.
While it’s a bit high for him, he’ll likely be the best power forward left on the board at the time, and the Nets may just take him.
Hansbrough comes in with a chip on his shoulder, as many have already written him off as not being a good NBA player. Although he’ll never be the dominating player he was in college, he can be a solid role player and sixth man. The intensity he brings to the court off the bench could land him a starting role somewhere down the line.
He’ll never be an All-Star, but he’s in a draft class that won’t produce many All-Stars anyway.
Matt Sugam also writes for The Daily Targum at Rutgers Univeristy.