The Magic go for this draft’s workout warrior in Frank Ntilikina. The Magic need to take high upside players and Ntilikina is one of them. He’s very raw right now, but the Magic have Elfred Payton who could be the starter this year and groom Ntilikina into the role.
I see this pick happening because John Hammond was in Milwaukee when the team selected Giannis and has been known to take upside picks like this. Ntilikina fits a big need and can develop slowly under a constantly rebuilding Magic team. I think Ntilikina could be the guy we thought Dante Exum could be, a very athletic, defensive monster who can lead fast breaks well.
The duo of Aaron Gordon and Ntilikina should make Magic fans excited for the future as the Magic Kingdom just got their point guard of the future.
Minnesota needs shooting and bench scoring. Malik Monk provides both for this young Timberwolves team. With Zack Levine coming off an ACL tear, getting consistent production from the shooting guard position is a must. I love this pick for Minnesota.
On an unrelated note, I have no idea why the Timberwolves want to replace Ricky Rubio with someone like Jeff Teague or Jrue Holiday. Rubio is a great point guard who would be an all-star if he could shoot. Rubio also made tremendous strides towards the end of the season, averaging a 16-10 post all star break.
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He has made Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins excellent players. So, why would you want to sign Jrue Holiday, a player who’s constantly hurt or Jeff Teague, an average point guard for near max money? If you trade Rubio for a pick and taking DSJ, I can see but don’t trade Rubio away to get a worse point guard for money. That would be like selling your stock in Facebook to buy stock in Yahoo. Just pay Rubio 13 million instead of giving a near max to Holiday or Teague.
In 2004, the New York Knicks at 8 selected Channing Frye, a stretch four out of Arizona. Frye was a bust in the Big Apple and was traded before his rookie contract was over. Now, 13 years later, the Knicks have appeared to not learn their lesson, trading away Porzingis to get a version of him that can only shoot well.
Markkanen is a modern stretch floor, who should fare better in the Big Apple and complement well with Hernangomez. He has a great Basketball IQ and should be a role player from day one for a struggling Knicks team. He will contribute from day one. However, Knicks fans will regret the day they passed over Dennis Smith Jr to select a role player at 8.