Ranking Knicks’ 3 biggest lottery pick busts since 2008 NBA Draft
1: Jordan Hill – 2009
New York selected Arizona’s Jordan Hill with the No. 8 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. He appeared in 24 games and averaged 4 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 44.6% from the floor before he was dealt to the Houston Rockets as part of a three-team trade midway through his rookie season.
Hill was labeled as the second-best forward in the draft behind Blake Griffin, the No. 1 pick. And truth be told, Hill didn’t get the opportunity to prove himself before he was sent packing to his next destination.
What makes it even worse is that the Knicks traded Hill in exchange for Tracy McGrady, who was on the downside of his career during his 13th year in the league. And in case you need the reminder, the move was also made to try to free up cap space to sign LeBron James that summer. Remember how the front office also completely botched that move? Sigh, let’s carry on.
In terms of being a lottery pick bust, Hill certainly fits the mold, but New York’s front office made a poor decision in trading him months after he was drafted, especially since it wasn’t a move meant to better prepare the Knicks for the playoffs. At that point, New York was at the end of a six-year postseason drought.
Hill’s best season came in 2014-15 when he was with the Los Angeles Lakers. He averaged 12 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 70 games (57 starts) while shooting 45.9% from the field. He’s been out of the league for five years now.
Because of his brief stint with the Knicks, it’s likely that Hill doesn’t cross the minds of fans often, but when he does, it’s hard not to think about what could’ve been.
In 2022, the worst-case scenario would be for New York to select a player at No. 11 just for them to be traded less than a year later. Leon Rose has a solid drafting record since he was named president of the team in March of 2020, so the odds of that happening are low.
The best-case scenario would be landing another player who’ll end up having a similar impact to Barrett. Like every other lottery pick team, the Knicks have been linked to several players, but in nine days, we’ll finally find out what Rose has up his sleeve.
