Yeah, Quickley was a nice save, but can you imagine a young backcourt combo of Haliburton and Quickley, the steady, uber-efficient floor general and the microwave scorer? One of the great things about Haliburton is that he’s such an easy fit with basically any personnel. They would have been set for years to come; and it’s not like people at the time weren’t imploring them to pick him.
You can say they made up for it with Quickley ... or that they came thisclose to a franchise-defining draft. And I’d say the same about the Suns, who like the Knicks have been skating on the good vibes of a much-better-than-expected season ... but imagine how much more stoked they’d be with Haliburton as their third guard — and long-term running mate with Booker when CP3 ages out in a couple years — as opposed to Jalen Smith, a somewhat stiff stretch 4 who was projected in the late first round?
Anyway, it’s probably too soon to write off Toppin or Smith, but if I were a Knicks or Suns fan I’d be kicking myself madly while also enjoying my team’s progress.