Are the New York Knicks listening? Jaden Ivey is undoubtedly going to be off the 2022 NBA Draft board once the Indiana Pacers make their pick at No. 6. The Purdue guard has been mocked to the Sacramento Kings at No. 4 (and the Detroit Pistons at No. 5), but according to a recent rumor, Ivey may not want to end up in Sacramento.
In ESPN’s recent mock draft (subscription required), Jonathan Givony slotted Ivey to the Kings, but the analyst wrote that “the Kings aren’t Ivey’s preferred destination.”
Givony went on to write: “Many around the NBA feel that this pick is available for a team looking to swap picks and move up the draft for Ivey.”
That isn’t news because it’s already been established that Sacramento has shown interest in trading away the No. 4 pick. Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reported a few weeks ago that the Kings could “either trade out of the draft entirely for an impact veteran or later down in the lottery to net a contributing rotation player in the process.”
So, is Ivey hoping that a team like the Knicks trade up to draft him?
Are the Knicks planning to trade up to No. 4 to draft Jaden Ivey?
If New York has considered trading Julius Randle during the offseason, perhaps he’d be the type of “impact veteran” that Sacramento might be looking for. The Knicks have expressed their interest in Ivey, but would they be willing to part ways with Randle to do so? New York seems committed to Randle, but that doesn’t mean that a trade won’t happen.
Let’s say that it’s draft night, which will take place in exactly one week. If the Knicks traded up to select Ivey, that’d be massive. The 20-year-old guard averaged 17.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in his sophomore season at Purdue while shooting 46% from the field and 35.8% from the 3-point line. He’s been labeled as the “most electric” player in the draft.
And if New York were to finish the first round with Ivey, that’d undoubtedly be one of the most electric moves of the draft. Don’t bet on the Knicks staying put at No. 11.
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