Draft night is one of the most exciting nights of the NBA offseason. There is the euphoric anticipation of who your team will select, paired with the anxious possibility of making a trade to move up to a better pick. For the Knicks, who don't have a pick until the second round, fans should expect an uneventful night. In fact, the Knicks could come out of the draft without selecting a player at all, according to Ian Begley of SNY and Steve Popper of Newsday Sports.
The Knicks traded three 2025 draft picks as part of the package they assembled to acquire Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets last year. They traded their own first-round pick, the Milwaukee Bucks' first-round pick, and a second-round pick to land the two-way wing.
Those first-round picks ended up being picks 19 and 26 for the Nets. Meanwhile, the Knicks' lone pick will be number 50 in the second round.
The Knicks could trade back
Begley and Popper, speaking on SNY's The Putback, both expressed that they wouldn't be shocked if the Knicks came out of the draft without making a selection. They sent out a lot of draft capital to acquire Bridges, and this could be an opportunity for them to regain some assets, likely in the form of future second-round picks.
Popper seemed to find it particularly likely that they wouldn't be selecting anyone with the 50th pick, saying, "If I have a true belief about the draft, it's that the Knicks are going to make me drive to Brooklyn on Thursday for this, wait through the 50th pick, and then they're going to deal it for a future pick so that they don't add any salary on their cap."
It is a good point by Popper, as the Knicks have some big decisions to make regarding player extensions, as well as free agency approaching. There is also the fact that whoever the Knicks hypothetically selected with the 50th pick would be unlikely to crack the rotation as the Knicks attempt to compete for a championship.
If they do make the pick, who could they potentially select?
If there is a name the Knicks don't feel they can pass up selecting with the 50th pick, it would likely be someone a bit on the older side who they view as being ready to contribute right away.
One name the Knicks have been linked to is Koby Brea, a fantastic shooter from Kentucky. Last season, Brea shot 43.5 percent on 214 3-point attempts. The Knicks ranked 27th in 3-point volume last year, and Brea would certainly help move that number up.