New York Knicks fans all over let out a large groan as the fate of the Knicks first round draft pick was determined today in the 2015 NBA Draft Lottery. Much to the dismay of the Knicks faithful, they fell out of the top 3 picks in the draft and landed at the 4th spot. They had the second best odds to land the 1st overall pick in the draft but they came up short of that and now, as reported by Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski, the Knicks might be shopping that pick.
At No. 4, expect that the Knicks draft pick will be very available in trade talks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) May 20, 2015
The Knicks falling out of the top 3 is not ideal for them. Their draft board was led by the Kentucky phenom Karl Anthony-Towns and followed up by Jahlil Okafor. With the Knicks in dire need for a big man to help them now, those were 2 of the best options to allow them to do so.
Landing at 4 all but eliminates that possibility especially with the top 2 teams, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers, looking to add depth in the frontcourt. Now they can look no further than Towns and Okafor. The Knicks can possibly draft a guy like Emmanuel Mudiay, D’Angelo Russell or even Stanley Johnson but that would just be drafting a player that is similar to what they already have.
So what can the Knicks do? Well, look for them to possibly work out a deal with a team looking to possibly do a sign and trade with a big name or even move down in the draft to select a guy like Willie “Trill” Cauley-Stein or even Myles Turner. Turner and Cauley-Stein both would need some work and the Knicks are looking to win now.
Maybe a package deal involving that pick, Andrea Bargnani and Jason Smith to the Portland Trail Blazer for LaMarcus Aldridge should be a trade the Knicks think about making.
