What can ya say?
Lottery loss leaves Knicks speechless
CHICAGO — In the aftermath of losing out on Zion Williamson, the Knicks went silent, no media questions allowed to the front office or the coach.
In fact, the only Garden employee who spoke publicly either on the day of the lottery or after it was, get this, Isiah Thomas.
The Knicks also had Patrick Ewing, who works for Georgetown, answer questions about finishing third in the lottery. Then GM Scott Perry and president Steve Mills emailed an ambiguous statement.
“We are excited to have the third pick,” it read, “and are confident we will be able to add a great player to our talented young core and the team that we are building.” That’s it. So publicly, the Knicks have decided not to discuss what happened Tuesday, or what their direction will be in its
aftermath. Privately, they interviewed draft prospects on Wednesday. Sources say that the franchise is still keen on striking a deal with New Orleans for Anthony Davis.
The amount of picks a team can offer is contingent on league rules and how many it has at its disposal. ESPN Insider Bobby Marks calculated it for us. Here’s what the Knicks can offer in a Davis deal:
● The third overall pick in June.
● Five other first-round picks
● Young prospects starting with Mitchell Robinson (the Pelicans are not high on Kevin Knox, according to a source). And how about the Lakers?
● The fourth overall pick in June
● Three other first-round picks
● Better prospects, starting with Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma The Celtics?
● The 14th overall pick in June
● Six other first-round picks
● The best prospects, starting with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
At this point, the Pelicans are hoping to retain Davis by convincing him to withdraw his trade request. That’s an unlikely outcome, but anything is possible. David Griffin, the new Pelicans GM, is an expert at handling relationships after keeping LeBron James and Kyrie Irving together for three seasons in Cleveland. Griffin’s departure in 2017 was a big reason the Cavaliers’ core crumbled, and now he’s tasked with managing different superstar problems.
Either way, a Knicks trade for Davis is far from guaranteed. And when it comes to the draft, the belief is that the third pick will be either Murray State’s Ja Morant or Duke’s RJ Barrett. That will largely depend who Memphis selects at No. 2. With the Grizzlies ready to start a rebuild in earnest — and Mike Conley on the trading block — the early chatter around the league is that Morant, the ball-dominant point guard, will be the second pick.
That would leave the Knicks with Barrett, the smooth 6-foot-7 wing who Isiah Thomas believes can be “quite special.”
Thomas, who was promoting his brand of champagne, was fired as president of the WNBA’s Liberty in February but maintained a contract with MSG that expires this month.
“I think with all these players, it depends on the coach and the system that they go to,” said Thomas. “If you fall into the right system with the right coach, that understands how to exploit and display your talents, then yeah you can be quite special. RJ is one of those players. Not only did he show it at Duke but he showed it at high school. He’s been one of the top-rated players in the country and also in basketball over the last four or five years. He’s not a surprise to anyone.”