The Knicks chose Syracuse guard Andy Rautins and Stanford forward Landry Fields tonight at the NBA Draft with their back-to-back second-round selections at Nos. 38 and 39 overall.
The Knicks, desperate for a point guard, took 6-5 sharpshooter Rautins after several of their favorites were off the board, including Nevada point guard Armon Johnson (chosen at No. 34 by Portland).
The Knicks also missed out on New Mexico’s crafty point forward Darington Hobson by one pick (Milwaukee).
At No. 39, the Knicks bypassed Lincoln’s Lance Stephenson for Fields, a 6-7 small forward. The fans at The Theatre chanted for Stephenson, the Brooklyn prodigy.
“It would be great to come out with one good player,” Mike D’Antoni said beforehand. “You never know in the second round.”
Knicks sources say Donnie Walsh opted against trading up in the late first round, unwilling to use $1 million of their $34 million cap space on a guaranteed contract.