NY Knicks: 3 players NY can target if they trade into Top 8 of 2021 NBA Draft

With the recent rumor that the NY Knicks could trade into the Top 8 of the 2021 NBA Draft if they packaged together picks 19, 21, and 32, I figured I could play GM and have a little fun.

While there’s plenty of directions the Knicks can go in, I think trading up might just be their best bet.

They could package their picks in a trade for a star like Damian Lillard.

They could stay put at pick 19 and pick 21 and load up with more young talent than they’ve had in quite some time.

Or, as mentioned, they can trade up into the top tier of this draft and solidify a position at the guard/wing for the next 10+ years.

The countdown to this year’s draft is just about 3 weeks away and with much anticipation, the fanbase is eager to figure out in which direction the Knicks may go.

Who should the NY Knicks trade up for in the 2021 NBA Draft?

Now, we must take into account that there is a bit of a stigma around Coach Tom Thibodeau in that he doesn’t like playing his rookies and young players.

While I believe that the Knicks should look at the elder classmen and try to find players who can help the team ‘win now’, my colleague Adam Kester recently debunked this myth a bit.

Juniors and seniors coming out of the 2021 class would be the ones on my personal radar, but there’s a handful of freshmen that I really like too, that I also believe can contribute to short-term and long-term success.

Regardless of all of this, it’s now a known fact that the Knicks will be targeting players who can shoot and players on the wing, as per a recent interview by Coach Thibs.

Here are 3 players I believe the Knicks can target if they were to trade up into the Top 8 of this year’s draft.