NY Knicks 2015 Re-Draft: Knicks exchange Porzingis for this star Center

Should the NY Knicks have drafted Myles Turner with the 4th pick of 2015?

This pick is interesting for a number of different reasons. With the top three talents all off the board, the Knicks are forced to take their pick of the second-tier talents.

This leaves the team with options like Myles Turner, Montrezl Harrell, Christian Wood, Terry Rozier, and… oh yeah! Some guy named Kristaps Porzingas.

This latter option is where this re-draft gets fun.

New York has the option to run back the original 2015 storyline. It’s a tale Knicks’ fans are quite familiar with.

Porgingis bursts onto the scene bringing shades of Dirk Nowitski to MSG. He becomes an All-Star (2017), one of only four players from the 2015 class to do so, and appears to be a building block for future success.

However, a combination of injuries and general disgruntlement led to an abrupt split in the form of a trade to Dallas.

A trade some here at Daily Knicks believe the Mavs lost by a landslide.

Although at first, it was widely believed that New York received very little value in the trade and then failed to land targets Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in free agency.

Unexpectedly, the trade was also a driving force in New York’s current rebuild.

The cap space and position freed up by Porgingis’ departure eventually became All-Star and Most Improved Player Julius Randle.

Should New York run back this path? I say no.

The Knicks’ best use of pick #4 would be to bypass the Porgingas drama and land a consistent talent like Myles Turner.

Though he has never earned an All-Star or All-NBA berth. Turner has carved out a reputation as a flexible center who has an elite knack for protecting the paint.

The former Longhorn star’s 866 blocks are the 3rd most in the NBA since his 2015 debut (trailing only multi-time DPOY Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside).

I recently wrote about why Turner would be a sensible trade target for New York. This gives the franchise a different path toward acquiring the budding star.

Best yet, swapping Porginzis for Turner doesn’t stand in the way of the current rebuild track.

There is no reason why the Knicks could not still sign Randle and Rose. Or hire coach Tom Thibodeau.

In fact, Turner’s unique ability to protect the paint while stretching the floor (he is a 35% career three-point shooter) would be a match made in heaven.

Imagine Randle and Rose attacking the basket without a player (and his defender) like Mitchell Robinson, Taj Gibson, or Nerleans Noel clogging the paint. Now imagine this scenario with the Knicks retaining the same top-tier level of shot-blocking and paint protection.

The choice is clear. #TurnertoNYC.

How would you re-write the 2015 NBA draft?