Like Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni, Jordan Hill is all smiles to be a Knick. NBAE/Getty Images

While the New York Knicks thought they got a steal with Jordan Hill with the No. 8 pick, it was an absolute heist in their eyes when they acquired Toney Douglas from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for a 2011 second-round draft choice and cash considerations.

Douglas was selected earlier in the night with the 29th overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft.

“We got a guy who we really liked in Toney Douglas,” said Knicks President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh. “For most of the people in the ACC, they would tell you that he was one of the best guys in the league... I think he’s going to help us a lot. I think he’s definitely a defensive guy but he’s also a scorer.”

A 6-foot-1, 225-pound combo guard, Douglas averaged 21.5 points for Florida State University as a senior, and was the runner-up as the ACC Player of the Year.

“He’s good, he’s really good,” gushed Walsh. “He can score and he’s a good defender. I think he can probably guard some twos so he might be able to play some third guard even though he’s 6-foot-1. He’s got a nice body. A good player.”

Douglas was also an All-ACC First Team selection and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and was runner up to Ty Lawson for National Player of the Year.

“A lot of people thought he should have won it but North Carolina had a great season,” said Walsh. “We felt like we had a really good draft.”

The Knicks had an agreement earlier in the day with the Lakers to acquire the pick with an eye on Douglas. In fact, Walsh said he had an agreement with another team to trade the pick for future first and second round selections.

But when Douglas was still available, it was music to his ears.

“I wasn’t (convinced he’d be available) at all, I really wasn’t,” he said. “I was really, really happy and we sweated it out all the way to the end. His agent, David Faulk, was on the phone with me every two picks. I said, ‘David, I can’t rush it anymore. I’m afraid the next name is going to be Douglas, and we are only at like 20.’ So I was very happy.”

Walsh also said that having already drafted a big earlier did not make them eye a guard with the 29th selection. Douglas was their man.

“He was our top player at that pick. In other words, when we rated him even among the bigger guys (he was who we wanted).”

Clearly adding Douglas along with Hill was a smashing success in Walsh’s eyes, as he sees them both as puzzle pieces for the Knicks long term future.

“We’re starting to form our team and starting to build our team into a team that can do what Mike wants, but has more NBA powers to it than we had before. I feel good about it. (Today was) absolutely a success. I tried to give you that with the first pick that we got maybe the best big man in this draft and one everybody wanted. It was a good day for us.”