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New York Knicks: Pros and Cons of trading for No. 1 pick in 2020 NBA Draft

By Maxwell Ogden

WOLLONGONG, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 06: LaMelo Ball of the Hawks takes the court during the match between the Illawarra Hawks and the Brisbane Bullets at WIN Sports & Entertainment Centre on October 06, 2019 in Wollongong, Australia. (Photo by Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)
WOLLONGONG, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 06: LaMelo Ball of the Hawks takes the court during the match between the Illawarra Hawks and the Brisbane Bullets at WIN Sports & Entertainment Centre on October 06, 2019 in Wollongong, Australia. (Photo by Brook Mitchell/Getty Images) /
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Potential New York Knicks target James Wiseman #32 of the Memphis Tigers is introduced before the game against the Oregon Ducks at Moda Center on November 12, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Oregon won the game 82-74. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /

Pro of Knicks trading for 1st Pick: A Potential Franchise Player

There’s no possible way to guarantee this would happen, but successfully utilizing the No. 1 overall selection often means finding a true franchise player. If nothing else, the odds are in favor of selecting a player who will become an All-Star.

Since 2000, the following No. 1 overall selections have become All-Stars, All-NBA honorees, or MVPs:

  • Kenyon Martin
  • Yao Ming
  • LeBron James
  • Dwight Howard
  • Andrew Bogut
  • Derrick Rose
  • Blake Griffin
  • John Wall
  • Kyrie Irving
  • Anthony Davis
  • Karl-Anthony Towns
  • Ben Simmons

The only two players on that list who made fewer than two All-Star or All-NBA teams were Andrew Bogut and Kenyon Martin. Bogut helped the Golden State Warriors win a championship in 2015 after being All-NBA in 2010 and leading the league in blocks per game in 2011.

Martin, meanwhile, played 15 years in the NBA and helped the New Jersey Nets make back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2001-02 and 2002-03.

That list doesn’t include the two most recent No. 1 overall selections: Productive big man Deandre Ayton and the potentially generational Zion Williamson.

There are busts to consider, as well as players whose stories have yet to be written. The reality of the No. 1 pick, however, is that the odds are in the favor of the selecting team to find a player who can be of immense value to its plans for a return to relevance.

Being that the New York Knicks already have RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson on the roster, a Bogut or Martin type of player could be the missing piece.

A prospect on any varying level from Simmons to James could single-handedly alter the path of the franchise.

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