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Knicks draft: Redrafting first-round picks from 2017-21
Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) – New York Knicks
2017-18 (29-53)
Drafted: Frank Ntilikina (7)
Available: Dennis Smith Jr (8), Malik Monk (11), Luke Kennard (12), Donovan Mitchell (13), Bam Adebayo (14), John Collins (19), Jarrett Allen (22), OG Anunoby (23), Kyle Kuzma (27), Josh Hart (30).
With Kristaps Porzingis, Willy Hernangomez, Enes Kanter, Joakim Noah, and even Kyle O’Quinn, I don’t see the Knicks taking another frontcourt player. With the seventh pick of the 2017 NBA Draft, the Knicks select… Donovan Mitchell from the University of Louisville
Starting line-up:
PG: Donovan Mitchell
SG: Courtney Lee
SF: Tim Hardaway Jr.
PF: Kristaps Porzingis
C: Enes Kanter
New York finishes 35-46. There are too many offensive mouths to feed and Jeff Hornacek can’t utilize Mitchell at the point guard position.
2018-19 (17-65)
Drafted: Kevin Knox (9)
Available: Mikal Bridges (10), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (11), Miles Bridges (12), Michael Porter Jr. (14), Donte DiVincenzo (17), Kevin Huerter (19).
Last year’s Mitchell point guard experiment didn’t work out, so the Knicks will take a point guard. With the ninth pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, New York selects…Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from the University of Kentucky. Porzingis still tears his ACL and the trade still goes through in January.
Starting line-up:
PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SG: Donovan Mitchell
SF: Mario Hezonja
PF: Noah Vonleh
C: Mitchell Robinson
Knicks finish 21-60 due to Mitchell willing this team into additional wins. Cleveland finishes below New York and the Knicks end up with the fifth pick in the following draft.
!["New](https://dailyknicks.com/2022/04/19/new-york-knicks-redrafting-first-round-picks-2017-2021/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2132,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fimagn-images%2F2018%2F08%2F16009366.jpeg")
New York Knicks</a> were always bad enough to miss the playoffs, yet not bad enough to land a top-five pick.</p>
<p>Or, if the Knicks were terrible, those first rounders were most likely packaged nicely and <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/04/19/new-york-knicks-redrafting-first-round-picks-2017-2021/2/"https://www.nba.com/bulls/news/curry_traded_051004.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent to the Chicago Bulls</a> to trade for the eventual 2012 NBA champion Eddy Curry.</p>
<p>Those picks ended up becoming LaMarcus Aldridge and Joakim Noah. New York did manage to bring Noah on the squad years down the line, <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/04/19/new-york-knicks-redrafting-first-round-picks-2017-2021/2/"https://dailyknicks.com/2018/10/14/new-york-knicks-joakim-noah-gone-not-forgotten-financially/">only to cut him and pay his salary up until the end of this season</a>. That seems like a sound financial decision, doesn’t it?</p>
<p>That brought me to this question:</p>
<p><em>What if the Knicks had a competent front office in the last five years?</em></p>
<p>What if Steve Mills was never given the keys to the team from Mr. James L. Dolan? What would the team’s roster look like today?</p>
<h2>Here’s what the New York Knicks should’ve done in past NBA drafts</h2>
<p>Let me break down the potential moves that New York’s front office <em><strong>should’ve</strong></em> made, knowing all that we know now. In what seemed like the right move at the moment, some of these misses have brought massive consequences to the franchise.</p>
<p>With that being said, these are the assumptions/rules set in place for this exercise:</p>
<ol>
<li>If the drafted players have been traded, then we’ll still have them traded but perhaps adjust the receiving players to make the trade realistic.</li>
<li>We’ll only focus on first-round picks and also only select other first rounders.</li>
<li>Second-round picks will remain the same.</li>
</ol>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/04/19/new-york-knicks-redrafting-first-round-picks-2017-2021/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> A guard combo </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-126079" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/04/19/new-york-knicks-redrafting-first-round-picks-2017-2021/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1084,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2022%2F04%2F1389029563.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz, Donovan Mitchell" width="1600" height="1084" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/04/1389029563.jpeg 1600w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/04/1389029563-768x520.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) – New York Knicks</p>
</div>
<h3>2017-18 (29-53)</h3>
<p>Drafted: <strong>Frank Ntilikina (7)</strong></p>
<p>Available: Dennis Smith Jr (8), Malik Monk (11), Luke Kennard (12), Donovan Mitchell (13), Bam Adebayo (14), John Collins (19), Jarrett Allen (22), OG Anunoby (23), Kyle Kuzma (27), Josh Hart (30).</p>
<p>With Kristaps Porzingis, Willy Hernangomez, Enes Kanter, Joakim Noah, and even Kyle O’Quinn, I don’t see the Knicks taking another frontcourt player. With the seventh pick of the 2017 NBA Draft, the Knicks select… <strong>Donovan Mitchell</strong> from the University of Louisville</p>
<p>Starting line-up:</p>
<p>PG: <strong>Donovan Mitchell</strong></p>
<p>SG: <strong>Courtney Lee</strong></p>
<p>SF: <strong>Tim Hardaway Jr.</strong></p>
<p>PF: <strong>Kristaps Porzingis</strong></p>
<p>C: <strong>Enes Kanter</strong></p>
<p>New York finishes 35-46. There are too many offensive mouths to feed and Jeff Hornacek can’t utilize Mitchell at the point guard position.</p>
<h3>2018-19 (17-65)</h3>
<p>Drafted: <strong>Kevin Knox (9)</strong></p>
<p>Available: Mikal Bridges (10), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (11), Miles Bridges (12), Michael Porter Jr. (14), Donte DiVincenzo (17), Kevin Huerter (19).</p>
<p>Last year’s Mitchell point guard experiment didn’t work out, so the Knicks will take a point guard. With the ninth pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, New York selects…<strong>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander</strong> from the University of Kentucky. Porzingis still tears his ACL and the trade still goes through in January.</p>
<p>Starting line-up:</p>
<p>PG: <strong>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander</strong></p>
<p>SG: <strong>Donovan Mitchell</strong></p>
<p>SF: <strong>Mario Hezonja</strong></p>
<p>PF: <strong>Noah Vonleh</strong></p>
<p>C: <strong>Mitchell Robinson</strong></p>
<p>Knicks finish 21-60 due to Mitchell willing this team into additional wins. Cleveland finishes below New York and the Knicks end up with the fifth pick in the following draft.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/04/19/new-york-knicks-redrafting-first-round-picks-2017-2021/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Missing out on a current star </a>
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<a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/04/19/new-york-knicks-redrafting-first-round-picks-2017-2021/2/"https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2018/08/15817354.jpeg">![""](https://dailyknicks.com/2022/04/19/new-york-knicks-redrafting-first-round-picks-2017-2021/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fimagn-images%2F2018%2F08%2F15817354.jpeg")
took Quentin Grimes, which seems to be a great move so far</a>. Hopefully, this will reflect on the future draft picks of this franchise.</p>
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