Jun 25th, 2010
Our faith in NBA scouts’ expertise was restored at about 8 p.m. Thursday, when the New York Knicks took Stanford standout Landry Fields early in the second round of the NBA Draft.
Landry Fields was not exactly a physical specimen as a high school senior -- Scout.com photo
Now, we understand that using the Knicks as a standard for “expertise” is taking a few liberties, given the team’s administrative screwups in recent years. But their general manager is Donnie Walsh, and there are a few people who think he knows what he’s doing.
Now, we are among them.
You see, virtually none of the millions of mock drafts out there expected Fields to be drafted (Yahoo.com was a notable exception, so we will be buying stock in that company tomorrow), and we wondered why.
There were a few that expected Cal guard Jerome Randle to be drafted (he wasn’t, nor was Omar Samhan or any other Bay Area player), but Fields was not listed among the top 60 draftable candidates by any of the reputable NBA Draft websites other than Yahoo.com. NBADraft.net, a website we respect, had Fields ranked as the 93rd best player in the draft. DraftExpress.com, the other authoritative source in our book, had him at No. 81.
And we couldn’t figure it out. (Check here if you think we’re lying, which we have been known to do.) He seemed to have NBA skills, clearly has a pro-level understanding of the game, and his vast improvement from his junior season to his senior year suggested his game and body were still maturing.
Granted, his team was lousy and his shooting range is limited, but Fields created nearly every positive thing the Cardinal did and was obviously the best player in the conference. OK, we grant you the conference wasn’t very good and college excellence does not always translate into NBA potential, but being the best player in the Pac-10 while averaging 22 points and 8.8 rebounds has to be worth something.
But nobody seemed to be biting.
They seemed to be singing this Linda Ronstadt song:
Well, the Knicks answered by taking Fields with the 39th overall pick. Most of the people on hand at the draft, many of whom were Knicks fans, responded to the selection with blank expressions, apparently unaware basketball is being played west of the Mississippi River.
But Fields, a versatile, 6-7 small forward/shooting guard with moderate athleticism (whatever that means), should fit in well with coach Mike D’Antoni’s up-tempo style. His competition for playing time is still uncertain because the Knicks are expected to make major changes before the 2010-2011 season begins.
The Knicks, who also drafted Syracuse shooting guard Andy Rautins in the second round, have plenty of room for new talent and modifications after going 29-53.
Power forward/center David Lee is the only Knicks player who can be considered a star, unless free agent Tracy McGary remains healthy and remains with the team.
McGrady, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Bill Walker are the current Knicks players who play Fields’ position, although the 6-10 Gallinari also plays a power forward spot.
The NBA was obviously caught off guard by the pick, because NBA.com did not have Fields’ profile available for its website, making him the only American player among the top 50 picks not to have a little information attached to his name.
They should called us.
We are anxiously waiting to see what the New York media says about Fields – and whether any of it is close to accurate.
East Coast media doesn't even know West Coast hoops exist, outside of UCLA.
I have been watching Landry for the past 10 years. I have felt strongly about two athletes in 40 years of watching high school sports-Landry Fields and Fred Stanley(who earned 4 world series rings with the Yankees). Landry has skills to be sure, but like Fred, he brings a number of unquantifiable characteristics to the game that will help the Nick's program.
Fred was the quaterback of my high school team, never impressed me as a super athlete, but he had the same team intangibles possessed by Landry. Go Nicks!!
The Orlando Magic's Matt Barnes is going to play for the NBA Champions, I don't believe it will have a lot influence at all. Even though Mr. Barnes is often a excellent small forward, he is not one of individuals that you will anticipate to come in and make a important influence. He is one of those guys that's a good solid addition to a ball club, but ends up changing franchises every single few of seasons. I believe he is pretty reasonable at playing defense, nonetheless, he has by no means truly been regarded a significant offensive weapon. I believe for the seven years that he is been in the NBA, he has only averaged double digit points per game once, I think he has a career average of approximately 7+ points per game.
This makes eveyrthing so completely painless.