The New York Knicks thought that with completely tanking the season, they would be able to secure a top 2 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and be able to draft bright young stars like Jahil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns, players that may be able to change franchises. Unfortunately, the got the 4th overall pick, which is not good enough for Knicks fans. Which now opens up the options for a trade. According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News:
“While Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein have garnered the most attention, the Knicks for months have been enamored with Trey Lyles, according to a team source. Lyles is a 6-foot-10 forward out of Indianapolis who Phil Jackson sees as a good fit for the triangle offense.
Would the Knicks select Lyles with the fourth overall pick? Crazier things have happened and if Jackson truly believes Lyles, the 2014 Indiana Mr. Basketball who was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and has played internationally for the U.S. and Canada, is worth it, perhaps he’ll make the move. A more plausible scenario would be for the Knicks to trade down, since most draft experts don’t see him as a top 10 pick.”
The Knicks, like many other teams, usually will leak information as to how they will deal with the draft in order to either let people know or to create attention to the fact they may be looking for a trade. This looks like they want to trade down. If they do trade down possibly to a 10-15 spot they SHOULD be able to pick up Lyles if they wish too, plus they get whatever they desire with the trade of the 4th overall pick. The price of the pick will vary depending on the team, but teams like the Thunder & Suns wouldn’t mind a young 4th Overall pick to work with.
