NBA Draft 2011: The Knicks Are Just Screwing With Everyone

That’s the only possible explanation for the Iman Shumpert pick. Seriously, the Knicks have already realized that no matter what they do, fans will still pack Madison Square Garden, superstars will still want to play there, and this little cycle of teasing can continue it perpetuity.

Either that, or Donnie Walsh took a page of out Kevin Pritchard’s book from last year, and deliberately tanked the draft. Either way, the Knicks wound up with the biggest head-scratcher of the night. Literally, anyone that’s ever seen Shumpert in college is like, “Really?!” From Eammon Brennan at ESPN:

The problem -- and college hoops fans already know this -- is that Shumpert has always been a great athlete. He’s always “tested well.” Between the lines, though, he’s never played up to potential. He’s never shot the ball well. He’s never been an effective distributor. With Shumpert at the helm -- and this isn’t entirely his fault; Paul Hewitt shares this blame, too -- Georgia Tech’s offense has often looked downright lost.

It would be one thing if that’s where they stopped. But then the Knicks bought a second round pick, and--with Josh Selby, Scotty Hopson, and a handful of other solid gambles still on the board--drafted Kentucky center Josh Harrellson. Yes, that Josh Harrellson, the feel-good story of Kentucky basketball, and perhaps the least athletic player in the history of the NBA Draft.

If the Knicks hadn’t bought that second round pick, is there any reason to think he’d have been drafted by someone else? If anything, he’s the type of guy New York could have signed as a free agent. It just made no sense. All of which leads us back to the original conclusion: The Knicks didn’t buy a draft pick and draft a player because they thought he was good.

It’s pretty simple, actually. The Knicks probably just wanted to screw with their fans.

And it worked, just like it does every year.