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Looking At New York's Second Round Trio
Authored by Zack Berg - July 19, 2010 - 9:00 pm
The Knicks surprised a lot of people when they selected Syracuse’s Andy Rautins and Stanford’s Landry Fields with the 38th and 39th selections, respectively.
Rautins was a lights out shooter in college, but many NBA executives doubted his ability to do much else, while Fields was not in most Draft experts top 100 lists.
Fields is an interesting prospect because despite averaging 22 point per game in the Pac-10 and scoring very well at the pre-Draft combine, most executives thought he would go undrafted. Knicks fans did not know much about Fields when he was selected, but, Fields told the Wall Street Journal he "can't really blame them, Stanford wasn't on TV that much."
However after five games in Vegas, we are starting to see why the Knicks took a chance on him. Fields was active in all five of the Knicks games and finished averaging 15.6 PPG on 53% shooting. If he can extend his shooting range to beyond the three-point line, look for coach Mike D’Antoni to give Fields a chance to earn a spot in the rotation as a rookie.
Rautins, on the other hand, struggled mightily in his Knicks debut. He finished the week shooting 32% and only scored more than three points in two of the Knicks five games. Rautins also failed to display the other skills that he was excited to showcase.
He set the bar high when he told the NY Post that he compared himself to Steve Nash and Dan Majerle, "Steve for the way he sees the floor and his passing ability and his vision, and Dan for the way he shoots the ball and his ability to grind it out on defense."
Rautins left Vegas with only seven assists. While he had a tough week, there is little doubt Rautins can light it up from deep and that is a great asset in D’Antoni’s offense. If he progresses in other areas, there is no reason his first few seasons in the League cant resemble that of Orlando’s J.J. Reddick. That being said, the Knicks have added numerous pieces this off-season that include guards Raymond Felton and Kelenna Azubuike so earning playing time will be tough for the former Syracuse guard.
The Knicks also traded for the rights to Jerome Jordan on Draft night. The former Tulsa center had a decent week while averaging 7.4 PPG. D’Antoni admitted that Jordan is a work in progress and has a long way to go. With the additions of centers Ronny Turiaf and Timofey Mozgov and Eddy Curry’s contract still using up a roster spot, Jordan might need to have an impressive training camp to earn a contract.
While clearly the Summer League is nothing more than a sneak preview at the NBA’s newest rookies, they can help measure expectations. Heading into training camp, Landry Fields has established himself as a player to watch while Andy Rautins and Jerome Jordan will look forward to a clean slate.
Authored by Zack Berg - July 19, 2010 - 9:00 pm
The Knicks surprised a lot of people when they selected Syracuse’s Andy Rautins and Stanford’s Landry Fields with the 38th and 39th selections, respectively.
Rautins was a lights out shooter in college, but many NBA executives doubted his ability to do much else, while Fields was not in most Draft experts top 100 lists.
Fields is an interesting prospect because despite averaging 22 point per game in the Pac-10 and scoring very well at the pre-Draft combine, most executives thought he would go undrafted. Knicks fans did not know much about Fields when he was selected, but, Fields told the Wall Street Journal he "can't really blame them, Stanford wasn't on TV that much."
However after five games in Vegas, we are starting to see why the Knicks took a chance on him. Fields was active in all five of the Knicks games and finished averaging 15.6 PPG on 53% shooting. If he can extend his shooting range to beyond the three-point line, look for coach Mike D’Antoni to give Fields a chance to earn a spot in the rotation as a rookie.
Rautins, on the other hand, struggled mightily in his Knicks debut. He finished the week shooting 32% and only scored more than three points in two of the Knicks five games. Rautins also failed to display the other skills that he was excited to showcase.
He set the bar high when he told the NY Post that he compared himself to Steve Nash and Dan Majerle, "Steve for the way he sees the floor and his passing ability and his vision, and Dan for the way he shoots the ball and his ability to grind it out on defense."
Rautins left Vegas with only seven assists. While he had a tough week, there is little doubt Rautins can light it up from deep and that is a great asset in D’Antoni’s offense. If he progresses in other areas, there is no reason his first few seasons in the League cant resemble that of Orlando’s J.J. Reddick. That being said, the Knicks have added numerous pieces this off-season that include guards Raymond Felton and Kelenna Azubuike so earning playing time will be tough for the former Syracuse guard.
The Knicks also traded for the rights to Jerome Jordan on Draft night. The former Tulsa center had a decent week while averaging 7.4 PPG. D’Antoni admitted that Jordan is a work in progress and has a long way to go. With the additions of centers Ronny Turiaf and Timofey Mozgov and Eddy Curry’s contract still using up a roster spot, Jordan might need to have an impressive training camp to earn a contract.
While clearly the Summer League is nothing more than a sneak preview at the NBA’s newest rookies, they can help measure expectations. Heading into training camp, Landry Fields has established himself as a player to watch while Andy Rautins and Jerome Jordan will look forward to a clean slate.
