New York Knicks: Five reasons the 2018 first-round draft pick should be untouchable

The New York Knicks are expected to be active at the 2018 NBA trade deadline. New York’s 2018 first-round draft pick should be untouchable.

The New York Knicks are mere days away from an NBA trade deadline that will test their commitment to the long-term vision. Teams will come calling for assets that New York would prefer to keep, and will likely make attention-grabbing proposals that could prove too good to be true.

Unless the Knicks are offered a superstar who will immediately elevate the franchise to contending status, however, the 2018 first-round draft pick should be untouchable.

New York is in an unfamiliar position in that it owns the rights to its first-round draft pick on an even year. That will appeal to rival executives who attempt to test if the new front office is as susceptible to rash decisions as those of past eras.

According to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, the Knicks will at least enter Feb. 8 with the mentality that the 2018 first-round draft pick is off limits.

"New York has no plans to include any first-round picks in trades before the deadline and doesn’t want to acquire any significant salary — unless it’s tied to a player that the organization views as part of its future."

Barring a transcendent talent or the acquisition of better draft assets, there shouldn’t be a trade that convinces the Knicks to move that pick.

First-round draft picks have been undervalued by the organization for the better part of a decade. If not for the Ted Stepien Rule, it stands to reason that the Knicks would have done even more damage by trading additional first-round draft picks.

Come the 2018 NBA trade deadline, the New York Knicks must refrain from giving up their 2018 first-round draft pick.

These are five reasons why.