Cle and NBA draft

[Shock Top]

I was saying before the draft that it would be awesome if the Knicks would trade up into the first round and take Cle. By some divine miricale, he ends up falling into their lap.

Good news for the Knicks: they got a steal
Bad news for Cle: no garunteed money

Will be interesting to see what happens to the Knicks this offseason. I wonder of they resign Toure?

Best news about all of this; Cle will be close to his mom, who can come to all his games and be near her son.

[Bob Sacamano]

We live rent free in his head.

Granted, it's only a studio apartment...

But it's spacious as can be. Big head + very little going on inside? I could stay here a while.

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

If Cle doesn't perform, it will be a dissapointment that he missed out on some guaranteed money by slipping to the 2nd round.

If Cle does perform, going 2nd round won't matter one bit a couple years from now.

Playing for the Knicks, and close to home for Cle, is an outstanding opportunity, and if Cle does well, could be a blessing in disguise that he "slipped".

[pinstripers]

from yahoo sports

***
New York Knicks
The haul: Cleanthony Early, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Louis Labeyrie
Phil Jackson’s got a new toy!
The new Knick president worked his way toward two projects and an NBA-ready prospect in Early, who has first round skills. You may not want him starting as your small forward, but he will be a sound rotation player.
Antetokounmpo is not nearly as skilled as his younger brother Giannis, but he is a banger and tireless worker that will appeal to both the Knicks and Knicks fans. Labeyrie has hops but the French big forward (grabbed by the Knicks after they paid for Indiana’s second round selection) seems like a long shot to make the team. Considering the second round nature of each pick, this was a win.
Grade: A

[DUShock]

Doug Gottlieb @GottliebShow 15m

Cleanthony Early is 23, played the 4 in college, high volume guy and not seen as a good enough "3&D" defender- reason for slip


Hmmmm....@ShockerFever:, Gottlieb's tone sounds a lot like somebody I have on ignore...what say you?

I do not care for the thoughts/opinions nor do I feed the mental cravings of a thief.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

All the knicks fan I have spoken with or seen on other message board all feel the same way we do. Think they got a steal and one of the best players in this draft. Their not optimistic on resigning Melo and Amare is Amare but they're ready for Phil Jackson and ready to see what Cle can do.

[Play Angry]

I am still salty this morning that Cle slipped to the 2nd round. That said...

The Knicks had no 1st round picks, which means that although Cle does not get guaranteed $$$, he is in an advantageous position for locking up a roster spot early on this summer since he is the top incoming draftee. Also, the fact that the other two 2nd rounders are Euro-projects works to his benefit, as he is the most ready-to-contribute draftee in the pipeline and neither one stands much chance to beat him out for a contract.

In the end, he'll make about $500k next year instead of $900k (if he'd gone in the 1st round). But he gets to play close to family and friends, under Phil Jackson's tutelage, in the biggest city in America, and possibly with Toure. It ain't so bad.

Knock it out of the park as a rookie and lock up some long-term $$$, Cle.

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

Doug Gottlieb @GottliebShow 15m

Cleanthony Early is 23, played the 4 in college, high volume guy and not seen as a good enough "3&D" defender- reason for slip


Hmmmm....@ShockerFever, Gottlieb's tone sounds a lot like somebody I have on ignore...what say you?

Gottlieb's "tone" sounded like someone trying to explain what the NBA execs were thinking. One has to ask, "why did Early slip?" It isn't like he was a lottery pick last night. NBA execs had SOME reason (right or wrong) why they didn't pick him sooner. I personally dislike Gottlieb in general, but this does seem like a plausible answer as to what THEY were thinking.

Anyone want to offer their alternative reasoning why Early slipped so far? Or are we just going to sit back, whine that Gottlieb made a tweet (that might even be true), and throw jabs at the posters we claim to have on "ignore"?

[Ricardo del Rio]

Add Xavier Thames at 59th (of 60 picks) to the guys who lasted a long time. Early may indeed have a chip on his shoulder going in, but he won't be the only one.

Also, going to a team with a fellow former Shocker who had to work his way up via a harder path than being drafted in the second round should give Cle the benefit of someone he can talk to who knows how it's done.

Pretty damn good point. Toure' will minimize so much potential brain damage.

[im4wsu]

One of the ESPN talking heads said at two different times last night something to the effect of, that down the road, Cle may be making a boatload of money while many 1st rounders are wondering how come he makes more than they do.

[CBB_Fan]

At first, I was just mad Early fell. But a get thinking about it I think he went to a great situation.

First, because of Phil Jackson. I never really respected the Knicks before because they had every advantage in the world and still managed to be mediocre, but I respect Phil. Regardless of Carmelo, I think the Knicks are on the upswing. They chose Early over GR3, a very similar player, because they felt Early was their man.

Second, Early is essentially the Knicks first rounder anyway. He will get first round attention and minutes, and he's probably the most loved pick for NY in a long time. As the home town hero, top pick, and backup quarterback he will probably be the most loved player on the team.

Third, the situation is actually great. He is with Toure, and that means a lot. And he is home. He'll fit in their better than he would anywhere else, and with the new culture he'll have every opportunity to succeed.

So while I wish he went in the first round, this is only an opportunity for him. Have to be happy for him.

[Dave Stalwart]

I bet his mom was praying for him to get to play for the Knicks, and the only way it could happen was for him to drop to the second round. It may look like he fell, but maybe it was orchestrated by Jesus for his momma :)

Cle will make that roster and he will earn playing time.

[Kung Wu]

Bottom line for me on Cle is this ... he's cast from the same mold as X. The difference between Cle (and X) and 90% of the 1st rounders is that Cle has THE quintessential killer instinct and passion. Given two guys with the same skill set, Cle is going to win. Even if Cle isn't quite as skilled as the guy he is staring down, he's still going to beat him more times than not. That's due to just straight up killer instinct. It's difficult for NBA decision makers to see that in training sessions. It was clearly demonstrated in the very high level matches against Louisville and Kentucky, but I can see where these guys end up in data-paralysis with so many athletes to choose from.

I believe the reason why X goes as the 4th overall vs Cle in the upper 2nd round is the path they took to WSU. Cle didn't get the benefit of 4 years under Marshall, and doesn't have the long history of high level dominance at the college level to showcase that X had, or the dominance in the scoring/rebounding stats that X benefited from. But I think we are going to see some awesomeness out of Cle at the pro level, just based on that killer instinct and passion that we were all blessed to witness.

[shockerfan34]

Is the feeling that Toure will be remaining in New York next season?

[SB Shock]

I'm just glad to see him get drafted. Now he gets to prove the naysayers wrong.