Eight Looks to Be Great for Knicks in 2009 NBA Draft

When the last ping-pong ball bounced and the dust settled, the New York Knicks ended up exactly where their record dictated they would, as they will have the eighth overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft on June 25.

In a dramatic turn of events, the Los Angeles Clippers won the lottery, and will pick first for the third time in franchise history (1988 – Danny Manning; 1998 – Michael Olowokandi). The two teams with the best percentage chance to finish with the highest pick fell out of the top three entirely, as the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards were leapfrogged by the Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Knicks legend and current Assistant to the President of Basketball Operations Allan Houston represented the Knicks on the dais, and brought along a special lucky charm -- Mr. October himself, Reggie Jackson.

“It was his suggestion,” said Houston, who attended an event along with Jackson earlier in the day. “He said, ‘Bring Mr October!’ I said, ‘That’s a great idea!’”

While Knicks fans might not consider him to be lucky after failing to move up in the draft, Knicks President of Basketball Operations disagrees.

"Reggie Jackson did bring us luck because we didn't lose a spot."

Unlike last year, when the Knicks fell from the fifth spot to the sixth, where they happily nabbed Danilo Gallinari, New York remained in the eighth slot. They had a 72.5-percent chance of staying put, and Walsh is more than fine to pick there.

“Now we begin our work as far as trying to pick out who is the player we think we can get there and we want to get there," said Walsh. "The conversations around the league will start now. We’ll spend a lot of time trying to figure out how the draft ahead of us will go and the group of players we’ll be looking at.”

Since the Lottery era began in 1985, the eighth slot has delivered many solid NBA players who have made their mark on the league, particularly in the last few years. Current NBA stars drafted eighth include Andre Miller, T.J Ford, Rudy Gay, former Knick Jamal Crawford and current Knicks Larry Hughes and Chris Wilcox. The lone All-Star drafted with the pick was Vin Baker by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1993.

The Knicks have drafted eighth once before in the Lottery Era, selecting Channing Frye in 2005. Frye had an impact his rookie year, averaging 12.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game on his way to being named to the First Team All-Rookie Team.

Prior to the Lottery, the Knicks drafted one of the greatest players to ever don the orange and blue eighth overall. In 1964, New York selected Willis Reed out of Grambling State and watched him evolve into “The Captain”, leading the Knicks to their two World Championships in 1970 and 1973 on his way to becoming one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. He won the 1964-65 Rookie of the Year award, was league MVP in 1969-70, and named Finals MVP in both 1970 and 1973.

Now, the onus is on Walsh to find a player who can have a similar impact to lift the Knicks back into the playoffs.

“I think we’ll get a good player," Walsh said confidently. "I thought before there were players to round out the top 10, and we’re at eight, so I feel good about that… I think we’ve got to get a player who will come in and basically fill in a need and then once that happens, that is going to put a player that we might already have in a better position to be successful.”

Players Selected Eighth Overall in Lottery Era

1985 -- Detlef Schrempf, Dallas Mavericks
1986 -- Ron Harper, Cleveland Cavaliers
1987 -- Olden Polynice, Chicago Bulls (Traded to Seattle for Scottie Pippen)
1988 -- Rex Chapman, Charlotte Hornets
1989 -- Randy White, Dallas Mavericks
1990 -- Bo Kimble, Los Angeles Clippers
1991 -- Mark Macon, Denber Nuggets
1992 -- Todd Day, Washington Bullets
1993 -- Vin Baker, Milwaukee Bucks
1994 -- Brian Grant, Sacramento Kings
1995 -- Shawn Respert, Portland Trail Blazers (Traded to Milwaukee for Gary Trent)
1996 -- Kerry Kittles, New Jersey Nets
1997 -- Adonal Foyle, Golden State Warriors
1998 -- Larry Hughes, Philadelphia 76ers
1999 -- Andre Miller, Cleveland Cavaliers
2000 -- Jamal Crawford, Chicago Bulls (Traded with cash to Cleveland for Chris Mihm)
2001 -- DeSagana Diop, Cleveland Cavaliers
2002 -- Chris Wilcox, Los Angeles Clippers
2003 -- T.J. Ford, Milwaukee Bucks
2004 -- Rafeal Araujo, Toronto Raptors
2005 -- Channing Frye, New York Knicks
2006 -- Rudy Gay, Houston Rockets (Traded to Memphis Grizzlies along with Stromile Swift for Shane Battier)
2007 -- Brandon Wright, Charlotte Bobcats (Traded to Golden State Warriors for Jason Richardson and Jermareo Davidson)
2008 -- Joe Alexander, Milwaukee Bucks