Why I'm Starting Allonzo Trier at Power Forward: Knicks SI Fantasy Tankathon

Why did I draft Monty Williams, Doug Christie, Kadeem Allen, Allonzo Trier, and RJ Barrett to the same team? There is one simple, yet crucial reason: I want to lose games. When Knicks SI editor Howard Megdal reached out to the team in our chat telling us that we were gonna be drafting teams to have a new Knicks SI Fantasy Tournament, I was excited. When I saw him say that the goal of this one was to lose as many games as possible, my eyes lit up. I have to do what the franchise I love has done for so many years - lose basketball games.

My draft strategy was simple - get basketball players that are the most intense possible combination of short and bad at the same time. The draft pool ran out of truly bad talent near the middle, resulting in the somewhat heartbreaking pick I had to make in one of the later rounds.

My strategy in terms of formulating a starting lineup with my drafted players was to take the traditional starting lineup one would construct out of those five players and flip it. This is how I wound up with a lineup of Monty Williams at point guard, Doug Christie at shooting guard, RJ Barrett at small forward, Allonzo Trier at power forward, and Kadeem Allen at center.

My first pick was Monty Williams, one of the lowest overall players in the entire draft, and the player available at the time with the lowest overall. My next pick was Doug Christie, taken because out of the remaining players at his overall, the lowest available, he was the shortest.

I next chose Kadeem Allen - an incredible pick for where he was drafted (the 19th selection). The 6'1 point guard should certainly contribute to some losing considering he will be the one taking the opening tip-off. I like Allen as an option to be the Knicks' third-string point guard next year, but he'll serve perfectly fine as my starting center for now.

My penultimate pick was Allonzo Trier, taken because of his relatively low overall compared to the other players still available from the draft pool and his height. At only 6'4, Trier shouldn't be too menacing of a force at power forward. My final pick was the hardest to make, and therefore requires the most sound description of my thought process when I was making it. Barrett was the lowest overall player available on the board by far, which made it difficult to pass up on him. Taking someone other than Barrett, perhaps Bobby Portis, would've required taking a player that was significantly taller and two overall points higher according to 2Ks ratings system. Barrett, his lack of an ability to consistently shoot from deep, and his relatively low height compared to other available options join my tank squad on their quest for defeat.