Cal: Knox can be a steal for Knicks
CHICAGO – In touting his Kentucky player as a strong fit for the Knicks, John Calipari said Kevin Knox has untapped potential and will burst into the prototypical perimeter wing for today’s NBA.
“He’s not even close to what he’s going to be,” the Wildcats coach said. “But he’s young. You got to know you’re going to see this kid now and it’s going to be, ‘Holy cow.’
“But he’s young. You’re not getting a guy who’s 25 years old. He’s 19. He just turned 19.”
Knox is currently projected as a late lottery pick and the Knicks are choosing ninth. Their priority, as outlined by the front office, is drafting a forward but they’ll be open to all possibilities depending on who is left on the board.
Although another small forward projected in New York’s range — Villanova’s Mikal Bridges — is more ready and accomplished, Calipari argued that Knox’s value is in his future.
“This league has become a future’s league. You’re not drafting for what they look like,” Calipari said. “You look at him and watch him and this kid got the better of him. But you watch it and you say that’s only because he’s three years older. Where’s this kid going to be in three years? That’s the challenge of what all these guys have to do. Mine is rebuild a team every year. That’s my challenge.”
Knox, who averaged 15.6 points as a freshman with Kentucky, interviewed with the Knicks at the combine in Chicago. Among the other interviewees: Missouri’s Michael Porter, Bridges, Michigan State’s Miles Bridges, Oklahoma’s Trae Young, Duke’s Wendell Clark and Alabama’s Collin Sexton.
But Knox has the best spokesman – Calipari – who is also a long-time acquaintance of Knicks GM Scott Perry.
“What they’re going to see is, this kid is really big. Really long. Skilled player, but he’s young,” Calipari said. “You just got to know you’re taking one of the youngest kids in the draft. But I think he’d do well there. The league has become a hit-or-miss league. If you shoot it, you’re good. If you can’t shoot it, you’re probably not good. And he can shoot.”
CHICAGO – The man at the top of the coaching tree — and unquestionably the greatest Knick coach since Red Holzman — has stamped David Fizdale with his approval.
“He’s a good choice for the Knicks,” Pat Riley told the Daily News. “And the City.”
In firing Phil Jackson and hiring David Fizdale, the Knicks transitioned from their failed Zen Triangle identity to the demanding Heat culture established by Riley.
Fizdale worked as an assistant in Miami for eight sea- sons, winning a pair of championships behind LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. The welldocumented philosophy in Miami strives for peak conditioning and peak work-ethic.
“A culture of consistency, of accountability, of hard work,” Erik Spoelstra described recently.
In that setting, Fizdale made a strong impression on Riley.
“A great young coach, he really is,” Riley told the News. “And I don’t know exactly how many years he has been in the NBA but he’s really got a great mind, he’s mentally prepared as a coach. He’s smart as hell. “I’m happy for him.” Fizdale started with the Heat in the video room in 1997, but Riley said he didn’t know the future Knicks coach until Spoelstra introduced him at Summer League about a decade later. Together, they went 403-241 over