MARK' IT DOWN
Phenom Fultz says playing in New York 'would be amazing'
Markelle Fultz can see himself in blue and orange. The projected No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft can envision playing at the Garden 41 times a year — if not more — sharing the floor with Kristaps Porzingis and making New York home.
“It would be amazing,” the University of Washington standout said, after watching the Knicks fall to the Raptors, 110-97, at the Garden on Sunday afternoon. “It’s close to home, my family can come out. This is the greatest place to play, really. Big [arena], a lot of good fans. “This is a legendary place.” A lot of pingpong balls would have to bounce the Knicks’ way for that to happen. At the moment, they have the sixth-worst record in the NBA, which would give them a 6.3 percent chance of getting the top-overall pick and a 21.5 percent chance of landing in the top three. The Knicks still could finish as low as fourth, if they lose on Wednesday to the 76ers, Orlando wins out, and Philadelphia beats the Pacers on Monday.
Fultz, a gifted, 6-foot-4 point guard who hails from Upper Marlboro, Md., has attended three NBA games since declaring for the draft, watching his hometown Wizards host the Heat, and the 76ers, who could wind up selecting him, face the Nets on Tuesday. He offered similarly glowing com- pliments about the possibility of being drafted by Philadelphia. More than anything else, Fultz wants to get a feel for the play of teams that could select him.
“It’s good for him. It’s good he gets that opportunity as high as he’ll be drafted, go see these teams, sit on the floor,” said Knicks wing Justin Holiday, another Washington alum. “It’s a win-win.”
Fultz, who had a front-row seat for the latest Knicks loss, didn’t seem scared off by talk of having to play in the triangle offense, which has been a topic of discussion around the Knicks since Phil Jackson became team president three years ago. Some have painted the system as antiquated, scaring off potential free agents.
“I think I can play in any system, just the way I adjust to anything,” said Fultz, who has not signed with an agent. “I’m very versatile. It’s cool to see that. It’s a lot of openings. That’s what I came out to see in person.
“Just the way they play, whatever they do on offense [I came to see]. That happens to be the triangle. I was watching the way they went through that and stuff like that.”
A lot could change May 16, the night of the draft lottery. Two years ago, when the Knicks wound up with the fourth pick, many thought they blew their chance on a franchise player, missing out on Karl-Anthony
Towns, D’Angelo Russell and Jahlil Okafor. But so far, Porzingis has been superior to Russell and Okafor, though not nearly as good as Towns, a New Jersey native.
This draft is loaded with playmaking guards, a major area of need for the Knicks. Fultz, Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, N.C. State’s Dennis Smith Jr. and UCLA’s Lonzo Ball are all considered potential impact players.
Part of the appeal of New York for Fultz is the presence of Porzingis, another budding young star. He likes what he sees from the 7-foot-3 Latvian and wouldn’t mind joining him in New York.
“That would be cool,” Fultz said. “He’s a good big, can shoot the 3, get to the rim.”
Despite Washington’s poor season that cost coach Lorenzo Romar his job, Fultz is considered the top talent in this draft, a virtually unanimous choice to go No. 1. He averaged 23.2 points per game, 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 47 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range. He scored 30 points or more five times, excelling despite underwhelming talent around him while playing in the Pac-12, one of the best conferences in the country
And he wouldn’t mind being a Knick. Now all they need is a ton of luck.