24

With the exception of the Cleveland Cavaliers no one is taking the 2013 NBA draft too seriously. Unless, of course, your job requires you to. If that's the case you have food on your table and draft knowledge far beyond the wildest aspirations of the average sports fan (I'm surmising that there exist those among us who desperately crave draft knowledge).


Anyway, this is going to turn into a write-up about the Knicks, as per usual.

This time around New York has the 24th pick in the draft. This guy has said he would be a perfect fit for the Knicks now that Jason Kidd is gone. Experts (people not like us) are saying this guy is actually the perfect fit for the Knicks regardless of who is or isn't around next season. Either way, the teams age will take a small hit, which is a good thing when you consider how old the majority of these people in blue and orange jerseys are.

The average Knicks fan doesn't even know they have a 1st round pick (fact, probably). No one should be upset about this because a) It's not a top 10 pick, and b) This draft class has no hype fueling it whatsoever. Being a Knicks fan is tough so it's understandable that most of us go into hiding around this time of the year. Many of us even stop paying attention to what's going on with the team until someone says some crazy shit meant to jinx us to death a couple of days before opening day (this is you, Best Front Court in the League).

Because history is all we have as Knicks fans you must join me on this look back at a decade of 1st round 24th picks.

2003: The Lakers select Brian Cook. He has averaged 5.5 points per game (ppg), .6 assists per game (apg), and 2.6 rebounds per game (rpg).

2004: The Celtics select Delonte West. Career stats: 9.7 ppg, 3.6 apg, 2.9 rpg.

2005: The Rockets select Luther Head. Career stats: 8.2 ppg, 2.1 apg, 2.4 rpg. He's no longer in the NBA.

2006: The Grizzlies select Kyle Lowry. Career stats: 10.6 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.7 rpg.

2007: The Suns select Rudy Fernandez. Career stats: 9.1 ppg, 1.1 apg, 2.2 rpg.

2008: The Sonics (R.I.P) select Serge Ibaka. Career stats: 9.7 ppg, .3 apg, 7.1 rpg.

2009: The Mavericks select Byron Mullens. Career stats: 8.4 ppg, 1.0 apg, 4.8 rpg.

2010: The Hawks select Damion James. Career stats: 4.2 ppg, .7 apg, 3.5 rpg.

2011: The Thunder select Reggie Jackson. Career stats: 4.5 ppg, 1.7 apg, 1.9 rpg.

2012: The Cavaliers select Jared Cunningham. Career stats: 2.0 ppg, .1 apg, .4 rpg.

With the exception of Brian Cook in 2003 and Luther Head in 2005 the 24th spot seems to generate usable players. It's way too early to have a clear understanding of how good the 2010-2012 picks are even though Reggie Jackson looks promising as his ppg increased to 13.9, his apg to 3.6, and his rpg to 4.9 once Russell Westbrook went down with a nefarious knee injury during the series against Houston.

The Knicks would gladly take a Delonte West and would be crazy not to take a Kyle Lowry with the vacant spot at point guard left in Kidd's wake. It's comforting to see that there is still some good to be had with the 24th draft pick. We should also remember that the Knicks haven't been the worst drafting organization as of late. Trevor Ariza was a 44th pick, David Lee was drafted 30th, Wilson Chandler was picked up with a 23rd pick, and Iman Shumpert was drafted in the 17th position. For what it's worth Landry Fields was a 2nd round pick and he proved to be quite useful prior to the Carmelo Anthony deal. The fact that none of those players is still around is a story meant for another time and place.

It's safe to say that reeling in a Serge Ibaka would be considered miraculous. Paying a rookie chump change (more than most of us will ever make annually) also helps the cause. But do the Knicks opt for a point guard or forward? Will they even keep whatever youngling they pick for more than a season? A month? A half hour? These are all questions you should just avoid asking yourself.

Enjoy the Finals from a cold alien distance.

-Alex Moran