The New York Knicks may have had their undisputed franchise player by now if they had just taken some advice that was given to them a couple years ago.
Appearing Wednesday on SiriusXM NBA Radio, ex-Louisville head coach Rick Pitino said that he tried to convince the Knicks to draft Donovan Mitchell, who played for him on the Cardinals, with the No. 8 overall pick in 2017.
The Knicks replied that they could not take Mitchell that high and drafted Frank Ntilikina with the No. 8 pick instead. Mitchell then went to the Utah Jazz at No. 13.
The 23-year-old Mitchell has since become a centerpiece for the Jazz and one of the top scoring 2-guards in the league. Ntilikina, meanwhile, has yet to pan out for the Knicks in his third year, doing well defensively but averaging just 5.8 points per game for his career.
The Knicks have definitely been roasted for draft-related reasons before, and while hindsight is 20/20, it has clearly been a pattern for multiple years.
