The big board may have been revealed. Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks are reportedly targeting six top prospects in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Say what you will about the rest of his tenure, but Phil Jackson’s handling of the draft has been a breath of fresh air for the New York Knicks. In contrast to the actions of those who came before him, Jackson has embraces the belief that the NBA Draft can be of monumental value.
After being forced to operate without his first-round draft picks in 2014 and 2016, Jackson has New York in possession of all of its future first-round selections from hereon out.
New York is currently in possession of the seventh-best lottery odds in the 2017 NBA Draft. It will be the Knicks’ second lottery pick since 2009—an odd reality considering it’s only made the playoffs three times in that eight-year span.
Ian Begley of ESPN New York revealed six of the Knicks’ targets in the 2017 NBA Draft: Lonzo Ball, De’Aaron Fox, Markelle Fultz, Josh Jackson, Malik Monk, and Frank Ntilkina.
"Members of the organization have been scouting players in the draft for months; there are a few players that those members have become fond of: French guard Frank Ntilikina and Kentucky guards De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, among others. Also, just like the rest of the NBA, members of the organization are also enamored by Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball and Josh Jackson."
That creates a vast number of reasons to be intrigued by the future of the organization.
With the one and only first-round draft pick that Jackson inherited as team president, he drafted Kristaps Porzingis. New York would have been in possession of the No. 12 overall selection in 2014 and the No. 9 pick in 2016 had the previous regimes not dealt them away.
In 2017, Phil Jackson is doing what the previous front offices failed to do by embracing the need for young and developable talent.
Each of the six prospects listed on the rumored big board offer reason to believe they can fill that void. All provide some measure of promise, as well as reasons to be skeptical of how they’d fit both in the short-term and the long-term.
The question is: what do you need to know about the six players rumored to be at the top of the New York Knicks big board?