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The New York Knicks left Tuesday’s NBA Draft Lottery as one of the night’s few losers, but trading away the No. 4 pick is not the right decision to make.
Heading into the 2015 NBA Draft Lottery, the Knicks held the second-best odds at landing the No. 1 overall pick — which would have delivered them Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns. Not only did the Knicks not move up to the No. 1 spot, but they fell in the lottery from No. 2 to No. 4.
Almost instantly after the draft order was revealed and it became clear that Towns was likely now out of the picture, reports began to surface about the Knicks’ willingness to field offers for their first-round pick.
At No. 4, expect that the Knicks draft pick will be very available in trade talks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) May 20, 2015
Sure the Knicks will be unlikely to get their guy Towns in next month’s draft, but with the No. 4 pick they will still be able to get an elite level player. According to reports, the Philadelphia 76ers — who currently sit directly above the Knicks with the No. 3 pick — are interested in taking Oho State guard D’Angelo Russell. That means that when the Knicks are on the clock, either Jahlil Okafor or Emmanuel Mudiay will likely still be available.
Right now the only piece the Knicks have in place is Carmelo Anthony, who is signed through at least the 2017-18 season. With no other real talent on their roster, adding either Okafor or Mudiay is something the Knicks cannot pass up on.
With plenty of cap space to play with this offseason and a star in Anthony already on their roster, the Knicks are in a position where they do not need to move the No. 4 pick in order to get a handful of assets in return. Instead, they can select an elite player at No. 4 and then build around him and Anthony during free agency later this summer.
The Knicks may have been the only team to fall during Tuesday night’s draft lottery, but just because they will likely not be able to draft their top target doesn’t mean they need to panic and part ways with the No. 4 pick. The Knicks will still be able to add an elite level player to play alongside Anthony, and between that and free agency, it should help the Knicks return to the Eastern Conference’s playoff picture sooner rather than later.
Greg Sacidor is a Feature Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Greg_Sacidor or add him to your network on Google.
