There is only one certainty to tonight’s NBA Draft for the Knicks. It will be the last one Donnie Walsh conducts.
Selecting at 17th and hoping to buy a second-round pick, Walsh has one last chance to make an imprint on the roster, and sounds very intent on upgrading the defense before he rides into the Indiana sunset on July 1.
The Knicks already got some good news after Tuesday’s labor meetings, when David Stern mentioned his salary-cap number on his latest proposal could be $62 million, which would give the Knicks a lot of cap room in 2012 for Chris Paul. Weeks ago, the figure loomed around $45 million.
The players Walsh covets tonight — including Florida State defensive forward Chris Singleton, Washington State shooting guard Klay Thompson, Colorado shooting guard Alec Burks and, of course, BYU point guard Jimmy Fredette — may not be there at 17. And multiple sources said the Knicks won’t be trading up because they’re not willing to give up any pawns from their roster that was already ravaged by the Carmelo Anthony trade.
However, the Knicks were getting indications last night Singleton and Burks could fall to them. Burks, a 6-foot-6 slashing shooting guard who is friends with fellow Colorado alum Chauncey Billups, did not work out for the Knicks because he only worked out for the lottery clubs.
“This draft has been changing a lot,” Walsh told The Post last night, breaking his silence on the draft.
Singleton could be viewed as a LeBron James/Dwyane Wade stopper for many years.
“He can play three different positions defensively — the 2, 3, 4 — and defense counts,” Walsh said. “When you have players like Singleton, that’s when you realize how important they are on the team. And he’s a good offensive player. That’s why a lot of teams like him.”
If the Singleton-Thompson-Burks-Fredette group isn’t there, the Knicks’ next layer of candidates comes down to whether Walsh decides to upgrade the point-guard slot with 6-6 Iman Shumpert, USC center Nikola Vucevic or Kansas’ slipping big man Markief Morris, who declined an invitation to work out for the Knicks. Indications were Walsh was leaning toward Shumpert.
The Knicks also plan to work out today Congo big man Bismack Biyombo, who had been projected to go before 17 but could slide.
“The goal is to get somebody to play for the team next year,” Walsh said. “If we do that, I’ll be happy. I don’t control it. Some teams like the guys you do. If you get more than one good player, great. And what you don’t get in the draft you get in free agency.”
Walsh won’t be around for free agency, whether it starts July 1 or not, depending on the looming lockout. Walsh will call the shots tonight, then hand the reins over to interim president Glen Grunwald and become a consultant.
“I feel like I’m working my first draft,” Walsh said. “I’m intense and nervous.”
There is nothing tougher than figuring out who will be available at 17, especially in this draft of parity. Shumpert should be there. His agent is Happy Walters, who also represents Amar’e Stoudemire..
“There’s a lot of really good guards here,” Walsh said. “He’s in the mix so to speak. You have to react to who’s going to be there.”
One recent name of interest that received a lot of attention yesterday in the Knicks’ meeting was Markief Morris, the more defensive-minded Morris twin who seemed to be falling, though the Sixers may grab him at 16.
Asked if he could fit in on a roster with Stoudemire, Morris said, “They’d have to find room for me anywhere.”
Walsh said he will explore buying a second-round pick
“The question is where in the second round you have to be,” Walsh said.
If the Knicks don’t take a point guard at No. 17, then they could select UTEP’s Julyan Stone in the second round.