NEW YORK — It feels like piling on Phil Jackson at this point, but we must when it comes to the NBA draft.
The Zen Master had three first- and second-round choices during his tenure, and he missed the following players — Nikola Jokic, Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo — by within nine picks.
Multiple GMs passed on those top talents, to be fair, but we bring these up to underscore a point ahead of Thursday’s NBA draft: contending teams are still built first with the draft, then with trades and free agency.
