What to watch for the New York Knicks Draft tonight!
The New York Knicks have the #8 pick as of right now and the player they choose could be based on how the draft un-folds. The Knicks are in a few trade rumors, the biggest is trading Kristaps Porzingis and any of those trades would of course change their draft position. But lets assume nothing happens.
The top 2 picks are very obvious both the Sixers and Lakers are expected to choose Fulltz and Ball respectively but after that the draft could go a few different ways. The Celtics are the first hot spot because they have a choice between Jayson Tatum and Josh Jackson. The decision will affect the rest of the draft.
Scenario 1:
If the Celtics choose Tatum,
#3 Celtics: Jayson Tatum
#4 Suns: Josh Jackson
#5 Kings: De'Aaron Fox
#6 Magic: Jonathan Isaac
#7 T-Wolves: Malik Monk/Markkanen/ Dennis Smith or trade
As you can see in this scenario the Knicks will most likely take the French point guard, Frank Ntilikina or Dennis Smith, both should fill a need for the Knicks. In this scenario the Knicks would be guaranteed a PG, which is their biggest need.
Scenario 2:
If the Celtics choose Jackson,
#3 Celtics: Josh Jackson
#4 Suns: Jonathan Isaac
#5 Kings: De'Aaron Fox
#6 Magic: Dennis Smith
#7 T-Wolves: Jayson Tatum/ Markkanen/Malik Monk/Frank Ntilikina or Trade
In this scenario you could potentially see Tatum fall to the Knicks, which would be also a good thing for the Knicks. The downfall is that Smith would already be off the board and the Knicks would only have once choice at PG.
As you can see the Celtics pick is a big deal because it dictates, who the Suns will take. The Kings are taking Fox, so that pick won't change but a Tatum pick by the Celtics could cost the Knicks a PG, while a Jackson pick would guarantee that the Knicks will get a PG. The other worry is that with the T-wolves not needing more young players they have talked to the Mavs about a swap, the Mavs are picking right behind the Knicks and have been linked to the French point guard. If they leap-frog the Knicks that would really hurt the Knicks as they would most likely miss out on all the top end players in the second scenario.
Overall I expect the Knicks to draft Dennis Smith or Frank Ntilikina, with Tatum as a dark horse if he drops. But watch the Celtics, Magic and T-Wolves as they will be major influences on who the Knicks will draft.
