With the 2008 NBA Draft only two days away, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated put together the ultimate NBA Draft… everyone is available, similar to the ultimate MLB draft done on this site a few months ago by Christian Chiavetta. Of course such exercises are pure imagination, good for nothing more than fun and debate. But they’re still interesting. The draft order used by Mannix is the same as the draft order that will be used on Thursday’s draft, so the Bulls select first, Heat second, etc. He only did one round, so the top 30 players (in his opinion) were selected. Salary was not a factor, and age was taken into some consideration. But the main criteria was talent, the ability to lead a franchise now. To the surprise of nobody, no current members of the New York Knicks were drafted. (In all fairness, no Nets were selected either. But it’s more fun to rag on the Knicks.) Here are the Knicks and Nets selections according to Mannix:
6. New York Knicks: Kevin Garnett, PF, 32. Yes, with KG as your cornerstone, you will have to find a fourth-quarter scorer. But that’s about all you will need to find to complement this ultimate team player and defensive menace.
10. New Jersey Nets: Tim Duncan, F/C, 32. Only age keeps Duncan from going higher. Duncan operates out of the post like Bill Walton and is as fundamentally sound as they come. Unfortunately, the 11-year veteran has played nearly two full seasons in playoff games, meaning his decline should be only a few years away.
Filed under: NBA - Knicks, NBA - Nets, Writer - Bill Slattery
