{"id":120979,"date":"2020-11-26T19:20:43","date_gmt":"2020-11-26T16:20:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/knicks-nba-draft-debate-heats-up-after-cade-cunninghams-debut\/"},"modified":"2020-11-26T19:20:43","modified_gmt":"2020-11-26T16:20:43","slug":"knicks-nba-draft-debate-heats-up-after-cade-cunninghams-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/knicks-nba-draft-debate-heats-up-after-cade-cunninghams-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"#Knicks&#8217; NBA Draft debate heats up after Cade Cunningham&#8217;s debut"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Knicks&#8217; NBA Draft debate heats up after Cade Cunningham&#8217;s debut<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n                        When ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla left the College Park Center in Arlington, Tex. Wednesday night after Oklahoma State point guard Cade<br \/>Cunningham\u2019s college debut, he knew he had likely seen a future NBA All-Star. And yet Fraschilla wasn\u2019t sure he saw the No. 1 pick in the draft.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s how spectacular the 2021 NBA Draft is shaping up and Knicks fans should pay attention. Knicks executives changed plans, showed patience and ultimately punted on 2020 free agency, putting them in No. 1 lottery seed contention.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know how much I love the draft,\u2019\u2019 Fraschilla told The Post via phone after calling the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>. \u201cAll these guys do the mock drafts. Honestly, they really don\u2019t know what they\u2019re doing. If you\u2019re an NBA GM, this is going to be a very deep draft at the top. Seven-to-10 kids I believe, late in the college basketball season, we\u2019ll be discussing as who will the league taken as the No. 1 pick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s after the 6-8 freshman Cunningham darted his way to a double-double in Wednesday\u2019s nationally televised debut that had Fraschilla calling him a \u201cMaserati.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cunningham, who Fraschilla likens to an old-school point guard, finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and three assists but had five turnovers in Oklahoma State\u2019s 75-68 victory over Texas-Arlington. The ESPN cameras isolated on the 18-year-old much of the broadcast.<\/p>\n<p>At one juncture, Cunningham sprinted coast-to coast with amazing grace, but coughed up the ball in the lane. Fraschilla screamed on air, \u201cHere comes the Maserati and\u2026he crashes it!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"2021 NBA Mock Draft No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham&#039;s Oklahoma State debut | ESPN College Basketball\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jUSt6F_xlgo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The early mock drafts have Cunningham No. 1. Directly behind are two athletic wing studs who will never play a college game \u2013 6-5 shooting guard Jalen Green and 6-7 forward Jonathan Kuminga.<\/p>\n<p>Green and Kuminga chose the experimental G League Select Team, created for high school stars who prefer a paid NBA internship over the one-and-done college experience. The NBA is hashing out some form of a G League season but it won\u2019t be the standard one because of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Florida State forward Rich Barnes is also in Fraschilla\u2019s early mix for No. 1, as is super-athletic 7-foot center Evan Mobley (USC) and 6-7 small forward Brandon Boston, who plays for Kentucky, which means the Knicks will have the most intel.<\/p>\n<p>Michael VandeGarde, a Sixers college scout for 18 years who recently set up a new NBA-<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">theme<\/a>d high-school scouting service, can\u2019t say for sure either if Cunningham is No. 1.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c2021 is loaded,\u2019\u2019 said VandeGarde. \u201cLoaded.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16684285\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img class=\"size-nypost-inline-default wp-image-16684285 lazyload\" alt=\"Jalen Green is another potential No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft\" width=\"300\" height=\"543\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/jalen_green.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/jalen_green.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/jalen_green.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/jalen_green.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=600 600w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 300px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span>Jalen Green is another potential No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>VandeGarde said Cunningham, Green, Kuminga and Mobley would\u2019ve certainly been the No. 1 pick in last week\u2019s 2020 NBA Draft if high schoolers were eligible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCould (Cade) be the No. 1 pick?,\u2019\u2019 Fraschilla, the former St. John\u2019s and Manhattan coach, said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbsolutely. He\u2019s going to be a very good pro. Does he do things beyond his years? Absolutely. What he\u2019ll be is a potential <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a>le-double guy in the NBA in a 48-minute game. But I don\u2019t want to say after seeing after one college game, \u2018yeah, it\u2019s over. He\u2019s No. 1.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>VandeGarde is actually leaning slightly toward Green.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of these 2021 kids are just freakish athletic,\u2019\u2019 VandeGarde said. \u201cJalen is listed at 6-5 which means he\u2019s 6-4. He lives above the rim. He does NBA slam-dunk championship dunks in games \u2014 between the legs, around the back.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Fraschilla also loves Green for his \u201chigh motor\u2019\u2019 on both ends, calling him Auburn\u2019s \u201cIsaac Okoro with an offensive game.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Still, Green and Kuminga won\u2019t get the exposure in a restructured G League campaign. NBA commissioner Adam Silver is adamant to showcase Green and Kuminga, another superior athlete. One scenario is the G League Select Team playing games against random pickup teams composed of the top-100 G league players in a bubble.<\/p>\n<p>Cunningham, Mobley and Barnes will own the larger spotlight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s won everywhere,\u2019\u2019 Fraschilla said of Cunningham. \u201cWinning basketball is an underrated attribute. The best thing about him besides his size and physical tools, he\u2019s a winner, makes everyone around him better. Whether he\u2019s drafted top-5 or 1, he\u2019ll be better when you put good pieces around him. His strength is he amplifies other people\u2019s strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The five turnovers, Fraschilla said, was more a function of Texas-Arlington packing the lane with five players. In the NBA, Cunningham will have way more lane space to dribble to the bucket.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Cunningham scored 11 of the final 22 points in a close contest with the Cowboys hanging on for the close victory.<\/p>\n<p>Because of COVID-19, only five NBA teams were permitted to watch as the crowd size was limited to 750 people in the 7,000-seat arena. Cunningham missed his first four shots before coming on to finish 7 of 16 (2 of 5 from 3-point range).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s like an old-school point guard because he plays with the pace of a Walt Frazier,\u2019\u2019 Fraschilla said.<\/p>\n<p>Fraschilla attended an Oklahoma State practice two weeks ago and saw\u00a0 Cunningham\u2019s intangibles. (NBA scouts currently can\u2019t attend college practices, which is a huge disadvantage.)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has great emotional intelligence with his teammates,\u2019\u2019 Fraschilla said. \u201cYou can tell they love him because he\u2019s got great team awareness. He huddled everyone up early (Wednesday) when they were losing and said \u201cWe\u2019ll be fine.\u2019\u2019\n            <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2020\/11\/26\/knicks-nba-draft-debate-heats-up-after-cade-cunninghams-debut\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Knicks&#8217; NBA Draft debate heats up after Cade Cunningham&#8217;s debut&#8221; When ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla left the College Park Center in Arlington, Tex. Wednesday night after Oklahoma State point guard CadeCunningham\u2019s college debut, he knew he had likely seen a future NBA All-Star. And yet Fraschilla wasn\u2019t sure he saw the No. 1 pick in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":120980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/cade_cunningham.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[81858,81038,81894,81895,73675,81896,72932,80950],"class_list":["post-120979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-11-26-20","tag-cade-cunningham","tag-jalen-green","tag-jonathan-kuminga","tag-nba-draft","tag-nba-draft-2021","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-oklahoma-state-cowboys"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}