As Knicks president Donnie Walsh looks to throw around some cash tonight and trade up into the late first round, Darington Hobson is crawling up high on his list.
The Knicks once thought the New Mexico small forward would slip to them at 38, but sources said he could rise into the first round.
Depending upon which team they strike a deal with, the Knicks primarily have their eyes on four guys worthy of a late-first-round trade-up — Hobson, Nevada point guard Armon Johnson, Iowa state power forward Craig Brackins and Maryland point guard Greivis Vasquez.
“We’re looking at that, for sure,” Walsh said of moving up. “We have to see if we can get a guy who can help us, if we move up or not.”
While July 1 is the bonanza, tonight Walsh wants to come out with at least one more building-block player to brag about to free agents.
That could be the intriguing Hobson, a junior who could help their disastrous defense immensely. Though a wing player, Hobson is more a point forward and handled the ball a lot for New Mexico and averaged 15.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists. “Some of our people think he’s got potential to be a good player,” Walsh said of Hobson.
Chris Ekstrand, the NBA’s draft consultant, said Hobson is “a good multi-purpose player who can actually play some point guard and make a lot of decisions. His niche is as a defensive player, a stopper of 2’s and 3’s, but he’s not a great shooter.”
An Eastern Conference personnel director said, “He’s a lively personality, plays to the crowd. He’s got a clever, almost deceptive game.”
Walsh is offering between $1 and $2 million and the Knicks’ 38th pick for a pick in the 20s.
“Those are guys we looked at and liked,” Walsh said of the four-man group. “There’s always opportunities [to move up]. This year, we weigh the opportunity of advancing with our free-agent situation.”
If the Knicks stay put at 38/39, Mississippi’s athletic 6-foot-5 freshman combo guard Terrico White is a definite possibility.
Selecting late in the first round means the Knicks would guarantee a $1 million contract that would dig into their $34 million in cap room. But a late first-round pick still gives them enough for two maximum free-agent signings.
If the Knicks stay put in the second round with their two picks, Walsh wants to come away with a traditional center, though good pivots are lacking deep in the draft. The Knicks could take a flyer on German center Tibor Pleiss.
As for other players the Knicks may trade up for, Johnson of Nevada is a strong, quick, 6-3 point guard who gets to the basket and has a nice mid-range but can’t shoot from the 3-point line. “He’s a good player and we have to look at him,” Walsh said.
The 6-9 Brackins is an excellent outside shooter but one-dimensional and played on an awful Iowa State team. The knock on Brackens is his low motor and it’s unlikely they trade up for him.
Vasquez is a huge point guard a 6-6, can run a team, can shoot, is flamboyant, but the fear is he won’t be able to defend the smaller, quick point guards.
A Knicks official said the Knicks were not in serious talks with the Blazers about trading Wilson Chandler for Rudy Fernandez, as a report stated.