NY Knicks: 3 players New York could trade draft picks for

Player worth NY Knicks trading picks for No. 3) Damian Lillard

I know, it’s a long shot that Damian Lillard will be traded prior to the conclusion of this year’s draft, let alone perhaps even this offseason at all, but crazier things have happened and, should the Portland Trail Blazers look to pull the trigger Friday, the NY Knicks should absolutely throw their hat in the ring.

Now, obviously, any deal for the superstar guard will require well north of the 19th, 21st, and 32nd picks in this year’s big night, but starting off the trade talks will undoubtedly involve them heading to Oregon — along with other selections in future years — and we at DK believe it could prove to be well worth it in the long run.

At this point in time, Lillard could easily be argued as the best point guard in the league but, at the very least, he’s a top-3 player at the position.

This past season, the 31-year-old posted unbelievable per-game averages of 28.8 points, 7.5 assists, and 4.2 rebounds on 45 percent shooting from the floor and 39 percent shooting from deep.

During the postseason, he turned things up to an even higher level, as he went on to put up a whopping 34.3 points, 10.2 assists, and 4.3 rebounds on 46 percent shooting from the floor and 45 percent shooting from deep.

With Lillard in tow, not only would the NY Knicks find the answer to their point guard woes, but they’d also bring on a player who could easily convince others across the association to make their way towards the Big Apple, as he’s a popular presence amongst current top-tier talents with a style of play that is desirable for others to play with.

Unfortunately with the Trail Blazers, it has proven to be rather hard for the concept of playing alongside Lillard alone to persuade other top names to make their way to the organization in free agency or via trade.

In a massive market like New York, however, the draw could prove to be much greater.

No, by no means are we trying to insinuate that this would work with a ton of other star-caliber players — after all, we’ve seen it fail in New York quite a few times in the past.

That said, when it comes to a guy like Damian Lillard who plays the most important position in the game today and who is a well-documented team player, we believe his presence could make the Knicks an even more desirable destination than perhaps it already is after their magical run this past season.