WHOLE LOTTO PAIN
KNICKS DROP TO 8TH IN DRAFT
Rookie president Leon Rose couldn’t reverse his team’s lousy lottery streak Thursday. The Knicks not only failed to move up but they dropped two spots from sixth to eighth for the Oct. 16 NBA draft.
The Knicks haven’t moved up since 1985 when they won the first lottery, selecting Patrick Ewing. It means the chances of drafting electric point guard LaMelo Ball will be extremely tough unless he falls or the Knicks trade up. They are more likely to trade down in what is considered an equitable draft.
The Timberwolves won the virtual lottery, earning the No. 1 pick, and could take Georgia shooting guard Anthony Edwards because they have an All-Star point guard in D’Angelo Russell. The Warriors select second and are open to trading down for a more established player. The problem for the Knicks is they probably don’t have that kind of ready-made asset as they are more stocked with futures.
The Knicks picked eighth in 2017 and selected Frank Ntilikina. They had a 20 percent chance of landing the eighth pick after being seeded sixth with only a 9 percent chance of getting the first pick.
On the bright side, 13 of the league’s 24 AllStars this season were picked eighth or later. Two of those were Jazz studs, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert — both picks of Walter Perrin, the Knicks’ new assistant GM of college scouting. Another was Jimmy Butler, whom head coach Tom Thibodeau molded.
It’s considered a weak draft with no consensus top three, though it’s heavy in point guards beyond Ball. The Knicks’ top priority has been drafting a scoring point guard, but there’s been no recent mandate.
Cole Anthony, Tyrese Haliburton, Killian Hayes, Tyrese Maxey and Kira Lewis are among the top lead guards who could be available at No. 8.
Anthony, the Manhattan product whose father is Greg Anthony, is not highly regarded in the mock drafts, with a few even positioning him just outside the lottery.
The Knicks appear concerned about Haliburton’s explosiveness and body. One NBA scout said, “I’m a big fan. I thought he really knew how to play. He has great height for position and exceptional length, however he is very, very, thin.”
While a point guard is preferred, the
Knicks also would enjoy a sharpshooting forward, and New Yorker Obi Toppin, out of small-school Dayton, fits that bill. Toppin probably won’t slide to No. 8, however.
Rose said recently two studs “stand out,’’ but opinions vary widely on the rest of the draft. That could be the climate to move back and pick up an extra asset. The Knicks also have the 27th and 38th picks.
Rose, who was not made available for comment after the lottery, wore a special bracelet given to him by a Garden of Dreams participant — a 16-year-old high-schooler from Jersey City who has brain cancer. A poster of Bruce Springsteen could be seen in the background of Rose’s Zoom shot.
Without a draft combine, the NCAA or conference tournaments, scouts admit the
task is harder and some feel the draft could be more of a crapshoot than ever.
There was not as much lottery transparency as in prior years because of COVID-19. The room usually contains reps from all 14 teams. None were on hand this year to limit travel and social distancing issues.
In addition, the normal amount of select journalists inside the room was heavily reduced. This year there was just one — from ESPN, which has a huge contract to broadcast the games.
James Dolan’s Rangers got lucky last week, winning the NHL lottery with a 12.5 percent chance of winning, but the Knicks couldn’t follow suit.
Missing on Ball could be a blessing in disguise. He is regarded as a polarizing talent who played just 12 games in the Australian League after being in Lithuania briefly as a 16year-old. The 6-foot-7 playmaker can thread the needle with great court vision, but he’s been a poor 3-point shooter — not unlike his brother Lonzo — and his defensive intensity was a disaster in Australia.
The draft remains scheduled for mid-October, but reportedly free agency may be pushed back by a couple of weeks. In fact, commissioner Adam Silver said on the lottery telecast Thursday night that the tentative Dec. 1 date for the season opener is “feeling a little bit early to me.”
Silver said he’d look to push the opening date back in an effort to ensure fans in the arenas.