As we wait to learn where the New York Knicks will pick in the 2020 NBA draft, let’s consider the options.
There are two matters of business remaining before the 2020 NBA Draft for the New York Knicks: first, they need to hire a full-time head coach; and second, they need to learn where they will pick in the draft.
As one of the eight teams who will not return to play this season, the Knicks have already secured the sixth best lottery odds for the August 25th drawing.
They have a 9% chance of selecting first overall, a 37.2% chance of landing in the top four, and 50.4% odds of falling to 7th or 8th. They could find themselves drafting anywhere between 1-10, with the exception of fifth. Since there is a drawing for each of the first four picks, it’s impossible for the Knicks to jump to 5th, but they can fall back as many as four spots if four teams leap over them into the top four.
New York also has a second first round pick acquired in the deal that sent Marcus Morris to the Clippers. It’s unsure exactly where that pick will land as it depends on how LA finishes their season in Orlando.
The front office could very well use their stockpile of picks (they also have two future first round picks from Dallas) to trade up in the draft, should the lottery fail them again. But for the purposes of this article, we will assume the Knicks keep whatever pick they get in the lottery.
While there are several possibilities of where each prospect could be selected in the upcoming draft – for example, the Knicks could find LaMelo Ball is available within any of the first three picks – for purposes of this article, we will follow normal mock rules. In other words, once a player is mocked at a particular pick, they are off the board, so the following picks are made assuming the players are selected in the order listed.
Without further ado, let’s run through who the Knicks could select from each of their possible lottery positions.