"Would we have still done it if it was a strong draft?" Lowe said.
Extra point Dontari Poe is also one of the strongest draft prospects:.
"If it was a strong draft, then maybe a second-round pick would have done it for Risebrough".
Some scouts considered Fleury, who was born when Lemieux was a rookie, the best player in an exceptionally strong draft.
"All the heat produces a strong draft, so it sounds like a jet engine or a railroad train.
"This year promises uniquely strong draft picks comparable with the draft picks in 2003, when such great players as LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade joined the N.B.A.," he wrote.
Meanwhile, across the Hudson, the New Jersey Nets have vaulted to first place on the strength of strong draft choices and a series of smart trades.
Many of the league's general managers believed this was the strongest draft for point guards in years, and that bore itself out.
While the Knicks were standing pat with a team of aging stars, the Nets made strong draft choices and courageous trades.
He was the third overall pick last summer in an extremely strong draft class and signed early last summer, and then dominated once he signed.
But the trade will be judged on the two young players and the pick, which could be in the top five next June, in a very strong draft.
