Protected first-round pick
For the New York Knicks to deal Ntilikina, they may need a sweetener. It probably won’t arrive as an unprotected pick, unless there’s a bidding war for him. That leaves a protected first-round pick as a likely option.
The Suns probably wouldn’t place a low protection on their top 2019 pick, given their 4-17 record. Even if it was a lottery protection.
However, a potential restriction on this selection can start with the 2019 draft, even if unlikely to covey. It may start with picks one-to-25, then move to a lottery protection in 2020 and finish unprotected by 2021.
That potentially leaves the Suns without a first-rounder in 2021, as they sent the Miami Heat’s unprotected pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in the Mikal Bridges trade.
Two-plus years is obviously a long wait for the Knicks, if they have a desire to accumulate immediate-return assets now. But, if they are not winning by then, it could help continue a slow rebuild.
In the meantime, that doesn’t mean they can’t utilize it as a trade chip.
If the Knicks land a superstar player in free agency, they may see themselves one player away from a superteam, with Kristaps Porzingis already around. That pick may entice a team, especially if the Suns don’t field a competitive team before the 2021 NBA Draft.
Note this can also be done with the pick Phoenix owns from the Milwaukee Bucks. There’s a protection on picks one-to-three and 17-to-30 in 2019 and one-to-seven in 2020, before it becomes unprotected in 2021.
Does a trade between the Knicks and Suns make sense? If so, which players can join a package to create this transaction?