The New York Knicks are one of the teams under a magnifying glass this offseason, both in the NBA Draft and free agency. The Knicks are expected to land a high draft pick at the NBA Draft Lottery on May 19. The Knicks reportedly have their sights set on Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns as their first option. Towns is expected to be drafted either first or second overall.
Well if the Knicks don’t land a top-two pick at the lottery, which should eliminate them from getting Towns, trading the draft pick they do get is an option, via ESPN:
Phil Jackson has said he will likely keep the pick if it falls within the top four, but will consider dealing the pick if it falls to No. 5. Of course, Jackson could change his thinking between now and draft night. League sources with knowledge of the Knicks’ thinking said last month that the team would be very open to trading the pick if it falls outside the top two.
Jackson did recently address his consideration of trading the Knicks’ draft pick, saying they would “consider everything”, via Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv:
“When the picks come in on the 19th of May [in the Draft Lottery], everything starts to germinate from there. Do you move a pick 1, 2, 3, 4? That’s questionable. Do you move a pick 5 if that’s the alternative end result, and use it as a chip, maybe. So there’s a lot of options that are out there.”
It’s literally all about what happens at the Draft Lottery. The Knicks and the Zen Master will be tested based on what pick they receive. If their draft pick does fall outside of the top two (Knicks have a 19.9 percent chance of landing the no. 1 overall pick) and they inquire about trades, they’ll be looking for a healthy exchange for that pick. Maybe this draft class is good enough where you should just hang onto any pick in the top five, but that could also make it just as beneficial for the Knicks in a trade scenario.
Of course, whatever the Knicks do in the draft will coincide with their goals in free agency. The opportunity will be there to make significant upgrades to their roster, and whatever draft pick they earn in the lottery will be the first step.
