Armed With Draft Capital, How Will The Knicks Spend It?

March is upon us and for Knicks fans and basketball fans across the globe that generally means one thing – March Madness. The exciting and unpredictable college basketball tournament is the stage where many of the upcoming NBA Draft’s top prospects will showcase their stuff and push their case for why they should be selected.

Armed with two first-round selections and an early second-round selection, the New York Knicks front office will be paying close attention to the play of numerous prospects during the March tournament in preparation for what is widely considered one of the deepest drafts in recent years. This year’s class features some real star potential with Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, Jalen Green, and Jonathan Kuminga. – Green and Kuminga opted to take a different path to the NBA, signing with the NBA G League Ignite squad and playing in the Orlando G League bubble against pro competition.

The Knicks entered the season with most pundits expecting them to once again be selecting in the early lottery, giving them a shot at one of the aforementioned top prospects – But that isn’t likely to eventuate as the Knicks have been a revelation so far this season, currently holding the 6th best record in the Eastern Conference and well and truly in playoff contention.

Few would have thought that of the Knicks’ two upcoming first-round picks it would be the Dallas selection (received in the Porzingis trade) that is currently the more valuable of the two.

Here is an update on where the Knicks three upcoming picks currently stand:

1. The Dallas Pick – 13th Overall 
2. The Knicks Pick – 17th Overall
3. The Detroit Pick – 32nd Overall (2nd pick of the second round)

So, the Knicks stocked with draft picks have plenty of options to consider, which is a really nice position to be in. What might some of those choices look like? well, here are some ideas:

1. Package the picks together in a trade to move higher up the draft order;
2. Include the picks in a trade for an established player that can help them win now; or
3. Keep all three selections and use them

It’s tough to make a strong read on prospects this far out from the draft, but who doesn’t like a good hypothetical draft scenario, right?

Let’s take a look at all three scenarios mentioned above over the next few slides.