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New York Knicks: A look back at NBA Draft history before 2018

By Daniel Lubofsky

(Photo by Mohammed Elshamy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mohammed Elshamy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) /
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With the ninth and 37th pick in the 2018 Draft, it’s always nice to look back at some notable decisions by the New York Knicks.

After a promising start to a season that ended with more questions than answers, the New York Knicks were granted the No. 9 overall pick in the upcoming 2018 NBA Draft, including the 37th pick of the second round.

Since the turn of the century, the Knicks’ front office has never seemed to put any stock in the draft, opting to trade their picks in the hopes that the veterans they acquire would put them on the fast track back to playoff contention.

New York has missed out on lots of talent with its inability to look toward the future, including Jamal Murray, LaMarcus Aldridge and Gordon Hayward, while the men acquired in those deals make Knicks fans shudder with names like Antonio McDyess, Luc Longley and Stephon Marbury.

Despite the awful transactions of the past 18 years, the Knicks appear to be turning over a new leaf, taking the smart route and building through the draft, with building blocks in Kristaps Porzingis and Frank Ntilikina at the forefront of the rebuilding phase.

While the ninth pick is certainly not the top-three selection that most Knicks fans were hoping for, there have been plenty of All-Stars taken at that spot, and even a couple of future Hall-of-Famers as well.

The list includes prominent names like Jo Jo White (1969), Reggie Theus (1978), Rolando Blackman (1981), Dale Ellis (1983), Otis Thorpe (1984), Charles Oakley (1985), Derrick McKey (1987), Rony Seikaly (1988), Tracy McGrady (1997), Dirk Nowitzki (1998), Shawn Marion (1999), Amar’e Stoudemire (2002), Andre Iguodala (2004), Joakim Noah (2007), D.J. Augustin (2008), DeMar DeRozan (2009), Gordon Hayward (2010), Kemba Walker (2011) and Dennis Smith Jr. (2017).

https://twitter.com/nyknicks/status/997540743257448449

The Knicks’ history at No. 9 is nowhere near as impressive, however, with the team selecting Don Ackerman (1953), John Rudometkin (1962), Jerry Harkness (1963), Gene Short (1975) and Larry Demic (1979) in that spot. Not a single one lasted longer than three years in the Big Apple.

With the 37th pick, New York will have to do some serious scouting if they hope to find a diamond in the rough. They’ve only selected there once, taking Greg Butler at No. 37 in 1988. He played in a grand total of 55 games and scored 76 points in his brief NBA career.

It’s not impossible to find a difference-maker, however, as Draymond Green, Marc Gasol and Manu Ginobili were all taken after the first round, but it’s proven difficult year after year.

There have been multiple noteworthy players taken with the 37th selection, including:

While highly unlikely, every draft has a few impact players that can be found when nobody’s looking, and it’ll be up to the front office to find those guys before other teams do.

Oddly enough, whenever the Knicks have actually kept their draft picks long enough to make a selection, they’ve done a pretty good job despite the pressure that comes with drafting for a pressure-filled organization.

With the exception of Patrick Ewing in 1985, there’s never really been a clear-cut choice for the Knicks to draft, as they’ve always had to make tough decisions, knowing that the wrong pick would bring heavy scrutiny from both the media and Knicks fans everywhere.

The selection of Porzingis angered tons of fans at the time, as he was by no means a guaranteed future superstar, even with the fourth pick. After only three seasons, though, it’s easy to see that should he stay healthy, KP will develop into one of the best players in the NBA.

Some other notable players drafted by the orange and blue include:

While none of these players would be considered top-level talents, they’ve all managed to carve out niches in this league, creating long and fruitful careers for themselves — maybe not necessarily in New York every time, but the longevity is there nonetheless.

With a gap on the wing, it’ll be interesting to see who the Knicks decide to take, especially since their choice may change depending on what the eight teams selecting before them choose to do with their own picks.

Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft - Doncic still No. 1 in post-lottery edition

Assuming the Knicks keep their pick, history has shown us that New York’s front office isn’t all that terrible when it comes to the draft, despite being fairly incompetent at everything else until this new regime took over. This should give fans the assurance they need that their team will get better once the draft rolls around.

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