Without a first-round pick, the Knicks will have to be creative Thursday night in the NBA Draft.

Fortunately for New York, this draft – although it does not feature a plethora of future hall-of-famers – it is loaded with talented players that will likely settle in as quality role players in the NBA. This draft is considered by many to be one of the deepest overall drafts, from top to bottom, in recent NBA history. Consequently, the Knicks could walk away with some real promising talent if things fall the right way Thursday night. For instance, remember that in last year’s draft the San Antonio Spurs snagged rugged power forward DeJuan Blair with the 37th overall pick. The Pistons then took fellow All-Rookie second-team performer Jonas Jerebko two picks later (39th). Marcus Thornton, originally drafted by Miami and then traded to New Orleans, was selected 43rd overall, and went on to average 14.5 PPG. In 2008, Goran Dragic, Mario Chalmers, Luc-Richard Mbah a Mute, and Chris Douglas-Roberts all dropped into Round Two.