The New York Knicks didn't care about the draft lottery results, considering they had more important things to worry about. However, they were almost forced to worry, as one of the Knicks' most hated rivals came close to winning the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes.
The Jazz, Hornets, and Wizards each had a 14 percent chance at the No. 1 pick, and a 52.1 percent chance at a top-four pick. Only one of those teams wound up in the top four, with Charlotte getting the No. 4 pick. Another team in the East came closer than that to getting Flagg.
Philadelphia sent Jared McCain to Chicago as the organization's representative at the lottery. He was grinning from ear to ear after picks No. 5-14 were revealed. Why? Because the Sixers hadn't been called yet. Anticipation built after Charlotte got No. 4, with Philly preparing to erupt if the unthinkable happened.
That feeling didn't last much longer, as the Sixers got the No. 3 pick. The Mavericks were the lucky winners, with the Spurs getting the No. 2 pick.
Knicks don't have to worry about Cooper Flagg in Atlantic Division
Three of the Knicks' division rivals have lottery picks. Philadelphia had the highest chance at the No. 1 pick (10.5 percent), followed by Brooklyn (nine percent) and Toronto (7.5 percent). Flagg could've ended up in New York, but with the Nets. Brooklyn got the No. 8 pick and Toronto will pick at No. 9.
The Sixers still have a higher pick than expected, but every Knicks fan breathed a sigh of relief when they realized it wouldn't be the highest pick. Watching Philly fans celebrate and gloat about Flagg would've been bad enough, but facing the phenom several times a year would've been worse.
New York's best-case scenario came true, which was Flagg going to the Western Conference. The Mavericks gave the Knicks a favor of a lifetime when they failed to extend Jalen Brunson, which led him to his rightful home in free agency. Dallas inadvertently did New York another favor by getting the top pick over Philadelphia. Nico Harrison doesn't deserve it after trading Luka, but that doesn't matter in this scenario.
Enjoy the West, Cooper.