Daily Knicks
Fansided

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
New York Knicks
LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton are enticing, but will anyone actually know what to make of these New York Knicks targets without further in-person evaluation? (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images) /

Con of Knicks trading for 1st Pick: It’s A Confusingly Unique Class

The 2020 NBA Draft boasts the most confusing class of prospects in recent history. Due in large part to COVID-19, exposure to prospects has been limited, including the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament and the restrictions placed on travel that further limits in-person evaluations.

Compounded by the fact that this was already viewed as a relatively underwhelming draft class on the star front, the No. 1 pick may not be as valuable as it seems.

Acknowledging the previous two pros as holding true, it’s also possible that this could be a repeat of 2013. This isn’t to say that the No. 1 pick will be another Anthony Bennett, but instead that there may not be as many stars as general managers might hope to discover.

Keep in mind: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert were post-lottery selections in 2013, and that was when scouts had the flexibility to travel to Europe and watch them in person.

Based on the state of the world and the perception of this class, it might be better for the New York Knicks to simply stay where they end up. The roster is already flush with young talent, and sacrificing future draft picks for a maybe in 2020 could mean losing out on the actual missing pieces down the line.

Throw in the fact that New York has the assets to trade for a star, and it might be worth holding on to the players and picks that would need to be traded for the No. 1 overall selection.

Home/Knicks Draft