By MARC BERMAN
Last updated: 6:29 pm
June 27, 2008
Posted: 3:42 am
June 26, 2008
The Knicks can play it safe and hope UCLA point guard Russell Westbrook or Indiana sharpshooter Eric Gordon falls into their laps at No. 6 during tonight's NBA Draft.
Or the Knicks can be bold, try to move up and snatch O.J. Mayo or Westbrook, with David Lee the potential fall guy.
Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni, in their first Draft-Night as a Knick tandem, are looking to be bold. But whether anything will come of trade talks involving a swap with Minnesota at No. 3 or a Memphis deal at No. 5 is suspect. Last night a league source said that Charlotte was closing in on a deal with Memphis that would give the Bobcats the fifth pick, with their eye on Westbrook or Kevin Love.
Westbrook, Gordon and 6-10 Italian Stallion, Danilo Gallinari, whom agent Arn Tellem is pushing hard on Walsh, make up the Knicks' short list if Mayo isn't there. The Heat's supposed interest in dealing the No. 2 pick in a swap with Minnesota likely undermines the Knicks' attempts at Mayo. One of those two teams likely would take the USC freshman the Knicks had targeted and convinced to work out in New York.
This could still turn into an exciting night at The Theatre adjacent to the Garden, if Lee is dispatched and Walsh/D'Antoni pull off a trade.
The Knicks have talked to Portland about trading down, swapping No. 6 with 13, possibly gaining point guard Jarrett Jack. But a league source said Walsh has very little interest in trading down, only up.
The Knicks have one big trade pawn - Lee. And if he goes tonight, there will be lots of groans at the Garden's Theatre from the fans who enjoyed his grit.
"Everyone's calling the Knicks about David, if you want to do a deal with the Knicks, they want David Lee," his agent Mark Bartlestein said. "With a new regime, it's always a possibility at this time of year."
Walsh is willing to trade Lee because he may have to offer him a contract extension by October or risk losing him to free agency after 2008-2009. A long-term contract extension would cut into the Knicks' ability to free cap space after 2010, especially if D'Antoni doesn't believe Lee is offensively gifted enough to fit in.
