After a night’s sleep, I still can’t believe KP didn’t attempt a shot in OT or that Wayne Ellington attempted and made more 3s than the entire NYK team.
Anyway, saw this over at theknicksblog:
In the 2017 NBA Draft, the Knicks were positioned one place ahead of the Mavericks. Ostensibly, both franchises could be drafting point guards in the draft that was saturated with guards.
Rumors swirled with who the Knicks might take with the 8th overall pick. That, obviously, would directly impact Dallas' plans with the 9th pick. Many believed the Knicks would grab one of Malik Monk, Dennis Smith Jr. or Frank Ntilikina.
The Knicks, of course, drafted Ntilikina, leaving Smith Jr. to go to Dallas. Monk was drafted 11th by the Hornets. Had things been different, though, and New York had taken Smith Jr., Cuban says there was a 'very good chance' the Mavs would have grabbed the French rookie.
"We like Frank quite a bit," Cuban said, via NY Daily News. "If Dennis had been selected there was a very good chance we would have taken Frank."
This season, Smith has been statistically superior to Ntilikina. That's no surprise, given Smith's offensive game is what put him in the top ten while it was Ntilikina's defensive prowess.
Nonetheless, Smith is averaging 13.9 points on 40 percent shooting with 4.5 assists, 4 rebounds and 2.9 turnovers in 28 minutes per game. Ntilikina is averaging 5.8 points on 36 percent shooting with 3.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.8 turnovers in 21 minutes per game.
The Knicks face the Mavericks on Sunday at 7 p.m. in Dallas, where the two rookies will play each other for the first time.