Redrafting The New York Knick’s Last Five 1st Round Picks

They say hindsight is 2020 and in the NBA it is no different. Given the chance to see how player’s careers have played out up to this point, it is easy to see what players the Knicks have hit on (I will give you a hint, it is not many) and others they should have written a different name on draft day.

NBA Draft 2013 #24 Overall – Actual: Tim Hardaway Jr., Do-Over: Rudy Gobert

Despite only entering the season at 27 years old, Rudy Gobert has already solidified himself as one of the best defensive players of all time. Last season Rudy Gobert won his second DPOY award, becoming the tenth player in NBA history to do so, joining Kawhi Leonard and Dwight Howard as the only active players to win the honors two or more times.

Unfortunately for Tim Hardaway Jr, his time with the Knick’s is most memorable for being traded to the Hawk’s only for New York to overpay him in the off-season two seasons later, and then two seasons after that being traded again.

Meanwhile, Gobert has made an impact on both sides of the ball. In the last four seasons, Gobert has never averaged less than 13.5 points and 10 rebounds, including a career-high 14.5 rebounds this season.

Gobert has the case for being the second-best player to come out of this draft class behind Giannis Antetokunmpo, while Hardway will go down as a solid role player at best.

NBA Draft 2014 – No Pick

NBA Draft 2015 # 4 overall – Actual: Kristaps Porzingis, Do-Over: Devin Booker

In this draft do-over, Kristaps Porzingis potential will make the Knicks think twice about passing on him, but ESPN has recently reported the Unicorn is dealing with returning knee soreness, extending his time on the Mav’s sideline this season.

Injuries and attitude will have the Knicks going in a different direction with the #4 pick. Devin Booker has been the best scorer to emerge from this draft and is an easy pick for this draft re-do.

Booker has averaged over 22 points in each of the last four seasons, shining the brightest with 26.1 points per game this season on a career-best 50.5% from the field. Booker has a chance to make history this season, joining the elusive 50-40-90 club and becoming the 9th player to ever do so. The Kentucky product is hitting 92% from the free-throw line, and falls just below the 40% from 3, only hitting 36% of his attempts from long range.

Even if Booker falls short of this accomplishment he is still only 23 years old, showing the promise and potential to get even better. Importantly, Booker has shown himself to be more of a team player. This season Booker has averaged 6.2 assists per game nearly double the amount from his breakout sophomore campaign.

If Booker is able to hold those averages over the second half of the season, he would join Steph Curry, Lebron James, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Jerry West and Oscar Robinson as the only players in NBA history to average 25+PPG, 6+APG and 50+FG%.

The Kentucky product personally showed the Knicks his scoring chops last night, scoring 39 points, his 15th 30 point game this season, in the Phoenix Suns 121-98 victory over New York.

Porzingis’ time with the Knick’s was filled with injuries and drama, and if given a second chance. New York could grab one of the league’s best scorers.

NBA Draft 2016 – No Pick

NBA Draft 2017 # 8 overall – Actual: Frank Ntilikina, Do-Over: Bam Adebayo

It is no surprise with this re-do the Knicks pass on the French point guard, but who they do pick up will shock some. Most would look no further than the original #13 pick in Donovan Mitchell.

In his first three seasons in the league, Mitchell has never averaged less than 20 points per game while also seeing his rebounds and assist steadily rise each season. While former Rookie of the Year winner Mitchell has been playing at a high level from the second he entered the league, the player selected just one pick after has been showing his true potential this season.

For the Eastern Conference 2nd ranked Miami Heat, Bam Adebayo is averaging 15.8 points per game while hitting 58% of his shots from the field, along with 10.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists. Adebayo has proven that he is not just a walking double-double but an efficient double-double. In the last 10 games for the forward/center, he has only missed more than three shots in three games.

The Knicks’ actual pick in Frank Ntilikina is enjoying the best season of his career, similarly, to Adebayo, but that should be taken with a grain of salt. Actually, make that a pound of salt. The 6’5 guard is a great defender but his career-high of 6.2 points on 39.6 FG% and 32.6 3FG% has left the Knicks fan base uninspired.

With Ntilikina still struggling heavily on the offensive of the ball, going with either Mitchell or Adebayo would be a significant upgrade over the Frenchman. While Mitchell has been better up to this point, long term Adebayo’s star may shine even brighter.

NBA Draft 2018 # 9 overall – Actual: Kevin Knox, Do-Over: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

While Knox still has plenty of time to develop, the Knicks would grab a different Kentucky Wildcat if given a second chance. Knox and Gilgeous-Alexander had similar rookie campaigns, statistically, as Knox has fallen prey to a sophomore slump while Alexander has only gotten better.

Knox has averaged 7.6 points, 3.2, rebounds and 1.1 assist while seeing the floor a whole 10 minutes less than he did as a rookie. All is not lost for Knox as he dropped 17 points in the victory over the Heat including a 10 point run in just 1 minute and 58 seconds during the second quarter. His former Kentucky teammate who went just two picks after him has shown far greater potential up to this point.

Alexander has averaged 20 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3 assists while starting for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rocked the league with his recent dominant performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In 36 minutes, Shai recorded 20 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double. The 21-year-old not only became the 4th guard to accomplish a 20-10-10 triple-double, but he was also the youngest player in NBA history ever recorded with this accomplishment.

While the jury isn’t out on Knox, Shai has already proven to be a future star in the league.

NBA Draft 2019 # 3 overall – Actual: RJ Barrett, Do-Over: RJ Barrett

Through the first half of the season, RJ Barrett has not shown a reason for the Knicks to rethink this pick. In 41 games, RJ has averaged 14.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.

While players drafted later on such as Miami’s Tyler Herro and Detroit’s Sekou Doumbouya have shown star potential, Barrett’s star potential tops them all.

In the Knicks upset victory over the 28-12 Miami Heat, Barrett put his scoring chops on display. The lefty scored 23 points on 7/10 shooting and 8/10 from the foul line.

RJ’s biggest knock as a prospect was his three-point shooting. In his lone season at Duke, Barrett was only able to connect on 30% of his threes and continued to struggle early in his NBA career. However, as Ian Begley reported in the last 12 games, RJ has shot 39% from deep.

The Knicks do not regret drafting RJ Barrett 41 games into the season and they will not regret it down the line.