With the first pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls select...Thats right the Chicago Bulls have won the right to pick first overall in the up coming draft. So as David Stern will come to the podium on June 26th 2008 the pick is unknown as of yet, but one thing is certain, the New York fans wont be cheering of sprinkling rose petals when the pick is announced.
And the story of the draft besides the #1 overall pick, none other than the lonely New York Knickerbockers. As it is one more year where the Bulls have ultimately snagged a pick from the Knicks. The Bulls had a 1.7% chance to win the #1 pick and it just goes to show you that all you need is that proverbial ticket to have a chance and win. Although the Knicks were only a 7.6% favorite to land the top spot, if you polled fans across the 5 boroughs this was the year for the Knicks to regain that spot since they last had it in 1985.
After the 6th pick was awarded to the Knicks the blank stare on the face of newly minted coach Mike D'Antoni explained it all, a lottery bust for the Knicks. And as the rage inside New York fans simmered the smile across Bulls Executive Vice President of Business Operations, Steve Schanwald grew wider.
It has been said for quite some time that when the Knicks drafted Patrick Ewing the draft was geared in their favor, and Knicks fan Ian Freed hoped for some Deja Vu. " I had an inkling of hope that the NBA would rig it for us to get the number 1 pick" said Freed " and if they didn’t we would get screwed." The first overall pick means two things, the first is that your team was awful this previous season and you need all the help you can get, and secondly this is your first step towards rebuilding.
The Bulls are a product not only of an enormous amount of luck but also trying to lose at the end of the regular season to gain ground for the draft lottery. Or so thinks another unhappy Knicks fan Asad Aziz saying “A team like the Bulls winning the lottery shows how tanking goes wrong more than right.” Not everyone believed the number one pick for the Knicks would have changed them to an instant winner or even a contender. "The Knicks got a lower pick than they were projected to, but even if we got the #1 pick, I still don't think it would make the Knicks matter in the near future." said Freed "This years draft is fairly deep and, with luck, the #6 pick will have a lasting impact on the franchise, though it will be a future one, not an immediate one."
And even with the first pick should they have received it the Knicks are still a team in shambles and with a new coach bringing in a new philosophy. D’Antoni chose New York over Chicago (oh the irony) and now has to implement his run and gun style to a bunch of players who are not suited for it. Arguably the only players who can fit D’Antoni’s style of play are Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson. “The Knicks are run by one of the most incompetent men is sports” (James Dolan) said frustrated fan Robert Carlson “and we are stuck with a coach who is going to lead us to the lottery once again.” D’Antoni is not the right fit for the Knicks but he is in New York and they are stuck with him. He will have to change the entire mentality of the team in order for any type of success to occur.
Unhappy with the way things panned out for the Knicks in the lottery, Andre Anderson said this about New York's bad fortune. "The Bulls have to make some moves to really get better but their draft position is a start" said Anderson while staying optimistic, "and as far as the Knicks, we just have to work with the pieces we have and breed the young boys before we can actually be a decent team again." No one knows how long this process will take but hopefully with the 6th overall pick bringing in someone like O.J Mayo, D.J Augustine, Brook Lopez, Ty Lawson, Chase Budinger or who ever else will be available, will be the start of a new beginning with Coach D'Antoni.
The final 3 picks came down to the Miami Heat represented by Dwayne Wade, The Minnesota Timberwolves represented by Fred Hoiberg and the Chicago Bulls represented by Steve Schanwald. The Heat ended up with a consolation prize in the 2nd pick and the Wolves received the 3rd pick. As the teddy bear Hoiberg was holding for good luck fell with his disappointment in draft position so too did the moods and hearts of the New York Knicks fans.
Chalk up another dash in the loss column for the New York Knicks.
1 comment:
It seems that the Knicks will never catch a break until James Dolan is gone from the Knicks. You would just hope a miracle happens like the Knicks trade up the draft or get a star player in the draft at number 6 but we will have to wait and see.
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