Douglas making point to D'Antoni

[DaTPRiNCE]

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- When the Las Vegas summer league was over in July, coach [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] did not think he had his backup point guard for 2009-2010.
Rookie Toney Douglas, whom the Knicks drafted 29th after buying the Lakers' pick for $3 million, struggled in Vegas, shooting just 27.5 percent and not running the team to the coach's satisfaction. The Knicks went winless and D'Antoni went point-guard shopping.
"That's why we brought in every point guard that came through New York to work out," D'Antoni said.


In early August, Douglas began working out at the Knicks facility with a determined ferocity. Through three days of training camp at Skidmore College, D'Antoni is ready to pencil him in as Chris Duhon's backup.
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"I got in early and became a workaholic," Douglas said. "I stayed in the gym with the coaches shooting, worked the weight room. I made sure every aspect of my game got better."
The Knicks worked out Jason Williams, whom they felt was a step slow, and interviewed [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], whom they deemed as too much baggage. They pursued Ramon Sessions as a potential starter, but didn't want to eat up any cap room for 2010.
D'Antoni said he is glad Douglas is working out.
"He didn't have a good summer league, and it was a quick judgment and maybe made a mistake on," D'Antoni said. "He's a lot better than I thought. He might have ran out of steam at the end of the week, and I judged him on that not being ready. Give him credit though. I showed him things he had to work on and he did."
The irony is Douglas, out of Florida State, is expected to be in the rotation but their lottery pick, No. 8, Jordan Hill, is not.
"He makes the simple pass now," D'Antoni said. "Defensively I knew he had great instincts. I didn't know if he could make the simple pass and keep the flow up. He's shown signs of learning real quick."
The ACC Defensive Player of the Year isn't short on confidence.
"I feel like I can take on that role being the back-[up] point guard," Douglas said. "I knew coming in I was going to have a much better training camp. You just have confidence."
D'Antoni said he is hoping to limit Duhon's minutes to about 35 minutes per game tops, feeling he will be more effective. Duhon didn't have a true backup last season once D'Antoni decided Stephon Marbury wasn't going to play and wore down.
"It's only practice. It's when the lights come on," Duhon said. "But I have confidence he'll be able to do it. He's willing to learn. In Vegas, he tried to do too much. We won't miss a beat with him coming in."
With Nate Robinson having more of a shooting-guard mentality, D'Antoni said he envisions Douglas and Robinson playing together in a lightning-quick alignment.
"They're an intriguing tandem," D'Antoni said. "Together they can create havoc on the other team. They're so fast and dynamic."








































this is great news, lokks like he's going to be our back-up Pg right out the gate and i think he has what it takes to be successful in this league, he's going to be a steal...the Mo Williams, Gilbert Arenas, Manu Ginobli type of steals



he has the work ethic he has the skills talent, and most importantly going to get the playing time to produce and my guess is by the end of the season he'll be our starter


how about Douglas being pivotal to our rotation and Hill not loll




im hyped to see this dude play

[nyk_nyk]

It's definitely a much easier transition for a guard than a bigman. It is however dissapointing that our 8th pick is a project while our 29th pick seems to be ready to contribute right away. I'm real interested to see this Robinson/Douglas backcourt tandem. I have to assume it would be a huge defensive liability for us.

[StreetDreams21]

It's definitely a much easier transition for a guard than a bigman. It is however dissapointing that our 8th pick is a project while our 29th pick seems to be ready to contribute right away. I'm real interested to see this Robinson/Douglas backcourt tandem. I have to assume it would be a huge defensive liability for us.

Wrong. Douglas was ACC Defensive player of the Year and cares about defense. At the press conference when they were both introduced, he said he cared most about making defensive contributions for us. He is defensive minded.

[Paul1355]

Interesting because I didnt know that Mike D was shopping for point guards because he made a mistake on Douglas' ability. I just thought that Mike D wanted a deep depth of PG's and wanted to trade Duhon or Nate.

I think Douglas can do good because he is known for his defense and had big offensive numbers in college so he does have the potential to be an offensive threat. People say the ACC is not that hard to score in so we'll see if Douglas can be an impact player this year.

Hill not being in the rotation is surprising but he is raw and every scout said he was a raw player. We have Lee, Harrington, and Gallo who can play PF so I am not too worried about Hill not getting big minutes. However, I would not want to see Jeffries getting more minutes than Hill. That would be a shame.

[New New York]

I thought Douglas was considered a SG? I thought he was similar to Nate in that he is a SG in a PG's body?

But Mike Dantoni being impressed by a players ability to play the PG is saying a lot!

I would love for Douglas to be on of those Tony Parker, Rajon Rondo type steals for us, Lord knows as bad as we have done in the lottery with major bust, another major steal would be nice!

[New New York]

<TABLE class=bluelist width=175><TBODY><TR><TH>Toney Douglas

STRENGTHS:


</TH></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to get to free throw line</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ball-handling skills</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Lateral quickness </TD></TR><TR><TD>- Man to man defense</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Outstanding defender</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Pressure defense</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Aggressiveness</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Leadership skills</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Work ethic</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Athleticism</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Strength</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Wingspan</TD></TR><TR><TD>- 3-point range</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to catch and shoot</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to come off screens</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Pull-up jumper</TD></TR><TR><TH>
WEAKNESSES:


</TH></TR><TR><TD>- Decision making</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Not a true point guard</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Shot-selection</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Stuck between 1 and 2</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Older than class peers</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Poor passer</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to finish around basket</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Undersized



Curry

<TABLE class=bluelist width=175><TBODY><TR><TH>STRENGTHS:</TH></TR><TR><TD>- Craftiness</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Excellent skill-level</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Go-to scoring mentality</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Off-ball movement</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Offensive creativity</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Scoring instincts</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to create own shot</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Change of gears/Hesitation moves</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to get in passing lanes</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Aggressiveness</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Awareness</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Basketball IQ</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Competitiveness</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Confidence</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Leadership skills in clutch</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Poise</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Strong Intangibles</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Unselfishness</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Winning mentality</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Work ethic</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to create for others</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Conditioning</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to catch and shoot</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to come off screens</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to create separation from defender</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to shoot off the dribble</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Free throw shooting</TD></TR><TR><TD>- NBA 3-point range</TD></TR><TR><TH>
WEAKNESSES:


</TH></TR><TR><TD>- Not a true point guard</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Out of control at times</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Shot-selection</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Stuck between 1 and 2</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to defend position at next level?</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Lateral quickness</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Versatility to defend multiple positions</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Limited upside?</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Backup/Fringe Starter?</TD></TR><TR><TD>- College system makes him difficult to evaluate</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Average athleticism</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Average size</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Average wingspan</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Frail frame</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Relies too heavily on outside shot</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Hmmm....its look like we may have gotten the better player down the road. A lot of the same strengths and weakness, with Curry actually having fewer weaknesses than the player chosen 20 picks before him. Clearly Curry is a more gifted scorer (barely) but the defensive impact that Douglas can make is what has me optimistic that we may have ended up with the better of the two. Not to mention Douglas is much stronger physically -its like comparing Anthony Mason to Anthony Randolph-, and it would appear that Douglas is also the better athlete of the two.

Notice a lot of Douglas' strengths are areas of weakness for Curry

I'm not one to get over excited about a few reports about a player, but again I really am hoping we got a steal here!


Only time will tell

[DaTPRiNCE]

im very hyped to watch him play and the more i read up on him and the more i watch videos of him play the more i see that he's going to be one of the major steals from this draft class either as our starter down the road when we return to the glory days or as a 6th man, starks type player and i love his defense i applaud walsh for this move, douglas got the talent and the work ethic to make it happen

[johnstarky]

I feel that Douglas will be a special player for the Knicks.I remember when Dick Vitale said on draft night that the 29th pick can turn out to be just as eftective as any pick in the top 5.The way Douglas looked on the court during the Summer League allowed many Knick fans to see his high basketball IQ and his maturity as a player.You could just spot out those qualities right right away in certain players.I can remember when I predicted David Lee having a better NBA career than Chaning Frye after observing both of them in the preseason of their rookie year.They're some players that are able to make the right impression early on and I feel that Douglas will improve the Knicks in a tremendous way.Hopefully Jordan Hill can develop his game as well.

[KING~POETIQ]

<TABLE class=bluelist width=175><TBODY><TR><TH>Toney Douglas

STRENGTHS:


</TH></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to get to free throw line</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ball-handling skills</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Lateral quickness </TD></TR><TR><TD>- Man to man defense</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Outstanding defender</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Pressure defense</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Aggressiveness</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Leadership skills</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Work ethic</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Athleticism</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Strength</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Wingspan</TD></TR><TR><TD>- 3-point range</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to catch and shoot</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to come off screens</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Pull-up jumper</TD></TR><TR><TH>
WEAKNESSES:


</TH></TR><TR><TD>- Decision making</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Not a true point guard</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Shot-selection</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Stuck between 1 and 2</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Older than class peers</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Poor passer</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to finish around basket</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Undersized



Curry

<TABLE class=bluelist width=175><TBODY><TR><TH>STRENGTHS:</TH></TR><TR><TD>- Craftiness</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Excellent skill-level</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Go-to scoring mentality</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Off-ball movement</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Offensive creativity</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Scoring instincts</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to create own shot</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Change of gears/Hesitation moves</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to get in passing lanes</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Aggressiveness</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Awareness</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Basketball IQ</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Competitiveness</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Confidence</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Leadership skills in clutch</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Poise</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Strong Intangibles</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Unselfishness</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Winning mentality</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Work ethic</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to create for others</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Conditioning</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to catch and shoot</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to come off screens</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to create separation from defender</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to shoot off the dribble</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Free throw shooting</TD></TR><TR><TD>- NBA 3-point range</TD></TR><TR><TH>
WEAKNESSES:


</TH></TR><TR><TD>- Not a true point guard</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Out of control at times</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Shot-selection</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Stuck between 1 and 2</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Ability to defend position at next level?</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Lateral quickness</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Versatility to defend multiple positions</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Limited upside?</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Backup/Fringe Starter?</TD></TR><TR><TD>- College system makes him difficult to evaluate</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Average athleticism</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Average size</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Average wingspan</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Frail frame</TD></TR><TR><TD>- Relies too heavily on outside shot</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Hmmm....its look like we may have gotten the better player down the road. A lot of the same strengths and weakness, with Curry actually having fewer weaknesses than the player chosen 20 picks before him. Clearly Curry is a more gifted scorer (barely) but the defensive impact that Douglas can make is what has me optimistic that we may have ended up with the better of the two. Not to mention Douglas is much stronger physically -its like comparing Anthony Mason to Anthony Randolph-, and it would appear that Douglas is also the better athlete of the two.

Notice a lot of Douglas' strengths are areas of weakness for Curry

I'm not one to get over excited about a few reports about a player, but again I really am hoping we got a steal here!


Only time will tell

Good post. Those strengths that douglas has are the ones that you need to be successful in the pros.



Most of the strengths that curry has are only useful in high school and weak college conferences. Where the opponents are not as strong and athletic.



Because of this, curry will have a tougher time adjusting to the nba than douglas will.

[dre48ny]

Definitely good news! I hope he can really turn into a true PG. Can't wait til the season starts!!