Knicks look overseas with No 8 pick

The Knicks took French point guard Frank Ntilikina with the No. 8 overall pick, just the second player from France's LNB Pro A (and the first since 1999) to be taken by the franchise.

The Knicks are often full of surprises, but they did the expected Thursday night by selecting Frank Ntilikina.

He plays off the ball on his current French team, so some of the playmaking ability that he flashed in the U18 tournament earlier in the year might be hiding. "And the reality is we have to mold a team together".

"The reality is we have to grow a team together", Jackson said after selecting Ntilikina. One, they needed to figure out how to move Carmelo Anthony. What makes the Bulls a loser is what they ultimately got in return for him, and whom they picked with the seventh overall selection. A lost season followed, but an acceptable one to anyone familiar with the time window required to properly build an National Basketball Association team. For the 18-year-old Knicks' lottery pick, it wasn't to escape the boos as it was for Kristaps Porzingis two years ago, but to catch a flight.

Suddenly, the true nature of the project, all the waiting, appeared to dawn on everyone involved. "I think he's a good fit for us".

Jackson is trying to mend one of the two huge mistakes he made last offseason, given that Rose will be an unrestricted free agent come July. PJ has won 11 National Basketball Association titles as a coach, 2 as a player with the Knicks, coached 2 of the games all time greats Kobe Bryant & Michael Jordan, has a.704 win percentage, has the 6th most wins for a coach in National Basketball Association history, & so on and so forth.

Some unfortunate fans were probably scratching their heads and pulling their hair out during draft night, wondering what on earth their team's bosses were thinking. He had a talented veteran in Anthony.

That, of course, was all subject to a possible Porzingis trade, which might have greatly altered the Knicks' calculations.

Jackson guessed correctly with Porzingis, even as he fields calls to potentially trade him.

The 18-year-old worldwide prospect plays for the French club Strasbourg now in the middle of the French League Finals. NY was keen on shedding the final three years of Noah's $18 million-per-season contract from their books in an effort to reshape its roster and acquire a second lottery pick. His 6-foot-5 frame and 7-foot wingspan give him some elite tools to work with at the point guard position. His selection should signal the end of Derrick Rose's tenure in NY, but with Phil Jackson at the helm, who knows.

Porzingis skipped his season-ending exit meeting with the Knicks front office.

But what is that path for the Knicks? Just about every major young player with the team has an injury concern, but in terms of talent, there's plenty of excitement. The question remains will it be with the Knicks or another team? Porzingis, for all the ways in which he exceeded immediate expectations his rookie year, averaged 28.4 minutes per game and started all 72 games in which he played. Jackson recently confirmed in an interview on MSG Network last Wednesday that he's now entertaining overtures for Porzingis, though he won't be dealing away his prized trade asset unless he receives a very enticing trade package.

"Both", Jackson said, when asked whether the pick was for now or later.

"It's a lot of movement, a lot of rules so I think I can easily [learn] the triangle offense", he said.

Take into consideration: Jackson has routinely shown us the type of players he's attracted to. "If he's a guy who comes off the bench, who learns how to play the game, that's fine". Ntilikina is quick but doesn't have the elite athleticism of either De'Aaron Fox or Markelle Fultz. Both of these are things that NY reportedly wants in return for Porzingis.

The Knicks' asking price for Porzingis was reportedly extremely high, so there's a chance that Jackson was indeed just testing the waters without any real intent to make a deal.