Iman Shumpert: Highlight Breakdown

The Knicks selected Iman Shumpert, a junior PG out of Georgia Tech, with the 17th pick. Many people were upset with this choice since arguably the best player available at this time was Chris Singleton, a SF out of Florida State, who was coveted by Knicks fans and mock draft experts.

The Knicks are a team with actual, pragmatic aspirations for the next few years. A novel concept considering that this is different than how it has been the last 8 years or so when they were more embarrassing than a boner in gym class or a Wiener at a press conference. The goal THEN was to draft the best available and not per a specific team need like it is NOW.

Judging draft picks before they actually play and practice with their can be a futile exercise. However, I typically engage in such exercises while avoiding the types of exercise where I actually have to run around and lift heavy shit.

Please watch the video and then read my analysis. Let me know if you agree or if you see something about Iman that didn't address.

:00 - First off, this background music is atrocious

:01 - Its nice to see him move without the ball, a quality much needed when playing with Melo and Amar'e.

:11 - His shooting release is a little slow, which makes him supceptable to getting blocked and rushing shots which then leads to a poorer shooting percentage. Landry Fields also has a slow release which is why it is tough for him to create his own jumpshot off the dribble as we saw many times his rookie campaign. 

:14 - Good job getting separation there but that move is a lot tougher to pull off in the NBA

:21 - My favorite and most telling highlight. He displays good defensive vision here. Since the Knicks will never be a defensive powerhouse (lulz), creating backcourt pressure and going for steals will be how the team can create more shots and easier shots than the opposition. He also shows nice, "Dwyane-Wade-esque" footwork getting to the hoop and finishing with his left. 

:34 - Iman shows great quickness as he picks my boy Scoop Jardine's pocket here which is not an easy task. It takes a good motor to constantly be up on the opposing teams PG as they bring the ball up. 

:44 - Nice steal then floor balance on the fast break, while again showing a propensity to finish strong like ox. 

I realize that it is easy to watch highlight tapes and compliment a player but if you can take a granular look at exactly what the player does when they do it i.e. the mechanics or decision making, sometimes you can decipher his true skill level. The fact he has good NBA size (6'6, 220) and focuses on both ends of the floor leads me to believe that he can be a productive NBA player off the bench immediately. 

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