Knicks introduce draft picks, plan to seek info on Rubio

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) -- When he was finished making picks and completing trades, Knicks president Donnie Walsh had the same thought as many draft observers.

Why did Minnesota keep taking point guards?

Walsh said Friday he plans to call Timberwolves president David Kahn to get the answer -- a discussion that could lead to an inquiry about Ricky Rubio's availability.

"I haven't spoken to Minnesota. I will, because David, I know," Walsh said. "I don't know what's going on there. I mean he took a lot of point guards, and so I want to ask him, 'Why did you do that?"'

Kahn worked under Walsh in Indiana, and in his first draft running the Timberwolves picked Rubio and Jonny Flynn with the fifth and sixth picks. At No. 18 he then grabbed another point guard, Ty Lawson, whose rights were later traded to Denver.

The two early picks helped the Knicks because it allowed Arizona forward Jordan Hill to fall to them at No. 8. New York later acquired the rights to the 29th pick, Florida State guard Toney Douglas, from the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Knicks introduced both newcomers at their training center, but talk eventually turned to Rubio's situation.

The teenager from Spain must pay a multimillion dollar buyout to his team there to get out of his contract, and he may not want to do it to play in Minnesota. Rubio said his mother doesn't like cold weather, and his father told a Spanish media outlet that his son may remain in Europe.

Rubio didn't attend his introductory press conference Friday in Minnesota, creating further speculation he'll refuse to play next season for the Timberwolves. Walsh wouldn't go that far without knowing the status of the negotiations between the sides, but sounded as if he'd at least inquire about how to give Rubio his wish to play in New York.

"I would never say never to anything," Walsh said. "We're in the offseason, we're going to be checking everything out to see how we can make our team better."

And how did Rubio rate on the Knicks' draft board?

"He was up," Walsh said. "He was one of the top players."

The Knicks are happy with the guys they got. Though they coveted NCAA scoring leader Stephen Curry of Davidson, who went one pick earlier to Golden State, Hill could provide them with something they need even more than Curry's outside shooting.

"They're going to be pleased with the pick they got," Hill said.

Hill averaged 18.3 points and 11.0 rebounds last season for the Wildcats and believes he will play even tougher defense for the Knicks, who were the worst shot-blocking team in the league. The 6-foot-10 forward said he couldn't always be as aggressive as he wanted in college, unable to risk foul trouble because Arizona didn't even any other bigs to replace him.

That toughness is also what the Knicks like in Douglas. Besides averaging 21.5 points, he was also the ACC's defensive player of the year last season.

"Being a player, you always have to separate yourself, make you stand out more than the other players," Douglas said. "You rarely see a guard that can score the ball, a lot of points, and play with just as much passion on the defensive end as offense. That's rare, and I do that."

Hill and Douglas, plus the acquisition of Darko Milicic from Memphis, should help protect the Knicks if they lose David Lee and Nate Robinson in free agency. However, the Knicks believe all the parts can play together in coach Mike D'Antoni's system.

"We have a lot of versatile parts and the thing that we were missing was the overall talent level last year, and I think we've improved that," D'Antoni said. "It's definitely not over now. We've got to keep building it, keep getting it up, but I do think we're a better team today than we were yesterday."