Knicks Add Sneaky-Good Prospects Via 2nd Round

I’m definitely not a “homer” when it comes to the Knicks — because Lord knows I’ve been critical over the years — but I can’t shake the feeling that team president Phil Jackson quietly stole the show at the draft.

To come away with super-athletic Cleathony Early of Wichita State with his first of two 2nd-round picks, and then nab Thanasis Antetokounmpo with the second 2nd-round pick could be a stroke of genius.

Now, obviously the newest Knickerbockers have their flaws — otherwise they wouldn’t have been around so late. But for what new head coach Derek Fisher and Jackson have planned with their Triangle system, there weren’t many better players to insert.

Early is so athletic and has so much untapped potential, people are still talking about the way he dunked all over the Kentucky Wildcats collection of McDonald’s All-Americans in last season’s March Madness. Early will be a great high-energy spark in the Triangle.

As for the Knicks’ other pick, if that surname Antetokounmpo sounds familiar, his kid bro is the all-purpose weapon that’s been sneaky good for the Milwaukee Bucks. Thanasis, the older version of the “Greek Freak” may not be as polished as little bro, but he’ll be a good fit for what Fisher and Jackson want in a defensive specialist — length and versatility.

Knicks’ fans, fresh off the heels of the locker room cleansing of the underperforming and disgruntled veterans who were cast away to Dallas, there just may be a master plan from the Zen Master afterall.