Selecting a young prospect in the NBA Draft is always a bit of guesswork, speculation, and, most importantly, hope. Sometimes, players just don’t pan out the way teams hoped or believed they would. It happens to everyone, but the New York Knicks are notorious for not drafting well at times or letting their developmental youth go too soon.
In the process, they have missed out on several All-Stars in recent draft years. So, let’s have a look at six of the most notable All-Stars the Knicks painfully passed on in the Draft.
6 NBA All-Stars the New York Knicks passed on in the NBA Draft
6. Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Butler is one of the best two-way wings and playoff performers in the game today. He has been a six-time All-Star, the 2015 Most Improved Player, and made five All-Defensive Second Teams so far. When he entered the 2011 NBA Draft, few envisioned this type of career for Butler, though.
Among those who doubted Butler’s future stardom was the Knicks’ front office. They had the 17th pick and evidently wanted a shooting guard. Butler has since moved on to the small forward position, but back then he was classified as a shooting guard.
The Knicks, however, loved Iman Shumpert and selected him with their pick. Shumpert never averaged more than 10 points over his career but eventually found his way to the Cleveland Cavaliers where he was a role player on their championship squad. He didn’t have a bad career at all, but Butler is clearly the more talented player.
By now, Shumpert is retired. Butler, however, is still balling, averaging 22.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.9 steals for the Miami Heat. At this point, it is difficult to imagine that the Knicks would draft Shumpert 13 picks ahead of where Butler eventually was selected, believing that he had more potential. That was not just a misjudgment by the Knicks, though. As Butler was drafted 30th, it is safe to say that plenty of teams slept on the All-Star.
5. DeMar DeRozan
In the 2009 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks had the 8th pick. That draft produced six All-Stars and three of them – DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday, and Jeff Teague – were still available by the time the Knicks got to make their pick. They chose Jordan Hill. Hill only lasted 24 games in New York because he produced very little for a top-10 pick. DeMar DeRozan was drafted right after Hill by the Toronto Raptors.
While Hill played his last full season in 2015-16 and never looked like the top pick he was, DeRozan has been an All-Star six times so far and made two All-NBA Teams. He is in year fourteen now and still going strong, putting up around 24.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game.
It is fair to say that Toronto got lucky that the Knicks passed on DeRozan, who played nine good seasons with the Raptors. Hill showed some raw talent coming into the draft, and the Knicks apparently wanted a frontcourt piece to pair with David Lee rather than a shooting guard. Nevertheless, the Knicks passed on a legit All-Star who could have contributed more and probably would have lasted longer than just 24 games.
4. Jrue Holiday
In the very same 2009 draft, the Knicks also passed on drafting Jrue Holiday by going with Jordan Hill instead. They may not have wanted a shooting guard like DeRozan, but they could have used another point guard to help Chris Duhon run the show. Other than Stephen Curry, Holiday ended up being the best point guard to come out of that draft.
He has since made two All-Star teams, two All-Defensive First Teams, and two All-Defensive Second Teams. In 2021, Holiday also won a championship as one of the key pieces of the Milwaukee Bucks. While still being a lockdown defender at age 32, he is also averaging 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 1.2 steals on the same team that is competing for another ring.
Considering that Holiday ended up becoming one of the top two-way point guards in the game and the Knicks could have used that, passing on him in the draft must be rather painful now, especially in regard to the type of player they chose over him.
3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The 2018 NBA Draft has produced four All-Stars so far: Luka Doncic, Jaren Jackson Jr., Trae Young, and Shai Gilgeous Alexander. Only Gilgeous-Alexander was still available when the Knicks got to pick ninth. Going with Kevin Knox instead, they passed on the future All-Star.
The Knicks saw the potential of a dynamic scorer with a good combination of size, handles, and versatility in Knox. He struggled defensively, though, and as the Knicks got better quickly due to breakout seasons from RJ Barrett and Julius Randle, Knox’s development sort of got lost in the process. Nevertheless, he played four seasons in New York and had a good rookie season. After that, his role shrank with every season, until he averaged only 3.6 points and 1.7 rebounds in 8.5 minutes per game in his fourth season.
That is not a lot of time for a young player to develop, but he also hasn’t lived up to expectations with other franchises. So, maybe it is not all about the Knicks’ failed development, and they simply made a wrong pick in the draft.
Meanwhile, Gilgeous-Alexander went 11th in the same draft and has sneakily played his way into All-Star territory. Averaging 31.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.0 block, and 1.7 steals as the Thunder’s number one option, Gilgeous-Alexander made his first All-Star appearance this season and has a solid case to be an All-NBA guard.
2. Donovan Mitchell
Just one year before the Knicks passed on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they pulled off a similarly bad move in the 2017 draft. They had the 8th pick in a draft that produced All-Stars Jayson Tatum, De’Aaron Fox, Lauri Markkanen, Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo, and Jarrett Allen. The latter three were still available when it was up to the Knicks to make their choice. They selected Frank Ntilikina over all three of those future All-Stars.
Ntilikina’s time in New York was characterized by dysfunction, but even now that he is with another team (even though the Dallas Mavericks also look rather chaotic these days), he is still not producing at the level of a top-10 pick. The Knicks drafted him much higher than might have been fair, hoping that he would fit their offensive system well. If they wanted a talented guard, Donovan Mitchell would have been the better choice, though.
Mitchell went 13th in the draft, made the All-Rookie First Team, and has since been an All-Star four seasons in a row. While he is leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first playoff appearance without LeBron James, Mitchell was even selected as an All-Star starter this season. Having one of the best scoring seasons in the league as well as the best of his career, he also has quite the case to be on an All-NBA team.
So far, he has recorded a record-breaking 71-point performance and 13 games with at least 40 points. The Knicks missed out big time by passing on Mitchell in the 2017 draft.
1. Michael Redd
The 2000 NBA Draft only produced three All-Stars, but the Knicks had the chance to draft one of them with the 39th pick. Since Michael Redd was still available so late in the draft, several teams passed on him, and not just New York. The Knicks, however, made the mistake of selecting another shooting guard just four spots ahead of Redd.
Many teams were initially skeptical about Redd’s athleticism and defense, and the Knicks were among them. So, they drafted Lavor Postell instead. While Redd became a great scorer and one of the best second-round picks at that time, Postell only played three seasons in the NBA and never produced much. He just could not get off the bench as a backup to both Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell and eventually suffered a bad knee injury.
Redd also did not have a great rookie season, but then took off and averaged 20 or more points every season between 2003 and 2009. The Bucks understandably held on to him for 11 of his 12 NBA seasons. Redd eventually retired in 2013 after a successful career that included an All-Star selection, All-NBA Third Team honors, and an Olympic gold medal.
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