The New York Knicks learned where they will pick late in the first round.
When the New York Knicks traded Marcus Morris to the Los Angeles Clippers, it was clear the draft pick netted in the deal would land somewhere late in the 2020 NBA Draft first round.
With the Clippers winning their final seeding game in the bubble, it is now set in stone that the Knicks will select 27th overall.
New York will learn the fate of their own first round pick later this week – August 20 – when the NBA conducts the annual draft lottery. The Knicks have a 9% chance of landing with the first overall pick. They have a 37.2% chance to land in the top four. They are most likely to pick either 7th or 8th (50.4%). New York can land anywhere between 1-10, except fifth.
The Knicks also have a second round pick (39th overall) from Charlotte as a result of the Willy Hernangomez trade. Ironically, former team president Phil Jackson traded New York’s own 2020 second round pick to Philadelphia for the 2015 second round pick that was used to originally select Hernangomez.
Marcus Morris turned into a valuable draft pick
Marcus Morris won the hearts of Knicks fans early in the season with clutch shooting against Kristaps Porzingis and the Dallas Mavericks. In a season of disarray, as David Fizdale was fired and replaced by Mike Miller, one of the few highlights was when the Knicks beat the Mavs, twice. In those two wins, Morris averaged 24.5 points and shot 9-15 from downtown.
The Knicks signed Morris last summer to a one-year, $15 million deal after health concerns allowed the team to restructure their deal with Reggie Bullock. Morris reneged on a two-year, $20 million deal with the Spurs to take the opportunity in New York.
Steve Mills, who was team president at the time of the signing, was fired shortly before the trade deadline. Reports surfaced that Mills was reluctant to part ways with Morris, despite his expiring contract and the team headed to the lottery again. With Mills out of the picture, general manager Scott Perry orchestrated the deal with the Clippers.
Since joining Los Angeles, Morris has been adapting to a new role where he is no longer one of the top options like he was on the Knicks. As his minutes decreased, so has his shooting numbers from deep: after connecting on 43.9% of threes in New York, he is shooting only 31% from downtown with the Clippers.
If the Knicks keep both of their first round picks, it will be the first time they enter the draft with multiple selections in the opening round since 2005 when they drafted Channing Frye (8th) and David Lee (30th). They technically had two first round picks in 2015 when they traded Tim Hardaway Jr. for the rights to select Jerian Grant in the same draft Kristaps Porzingis was selected fourth overall.