The streak continues, as the Knicks not only failed to move up, but they fell from no. 6 to 8 in Thursday’s lottery.
The Knicks have not gone up since 1985 when they won Patrick Ewing’s first lottery. This means that the chances of drafting LaMelo Ball will be extremely difficult unless he falls and trades the Knicks. They are more likely to trade in an equivalent concept. The Timberwolves won the lottery, and earned the pick no. 1.
The Knicks took eighth in 2017 and selected Frank Ntilikina. They had a 20 percent chance of landing the eighth pick after they were sown sixth.
Without a support combination, the NCAA or conference tournaments, scouts admit the task is harder and some feel the concept may be more of a crapshoot than ever before.
It is considered a weak concept with no consensus top 3, although it is heavy in point guards outside Ball.
The Knicks’ top priority has been to score points, but there has been no recent mandate.
Cole Anthony, Tyrese Haliburton, Killian Hayes, Tyrese Maxey and Kira Lewis are among the top leaders available at 8 p.m.
There was not as much lottery transparency as previous years due to COVID-19. The room normally contains reps from all 14 teams. No one was available this year to curb problems with travel and social distance.
In addition, the normal amount of selected journalists within was much less. This year, the total was just one – from ESPN, which has an enormous contract to broadcast the games.
Rangers of James Dolan got lucky last week, winning the NHL lottery with a 12.5 percent chance of winning, but the Knicks could not follow it.
Ball is still considered a polarizing talent after playing only 12 matches in the Australian League, after being short at 16 in 16 Lithuania. He probably did not have the right high-end coaching skills – unless you consider the former Jets’ tight end, Lavar Ball, his controversial father.
The 6-foot-7 player may thread the needle with great vision, but he has been a poor 3-point shooter – unlike his brother Lonzo – and his defensive intensity was suspect in Australia.
The draft is Oct. 16, but reportedly free agency can be reprinted a few weeks back. In fact, Adam Silver said on the lottery telecast that December 1 of the tentative season “feels a little early to me.” Silver said he would look for a push-back to secure fans in the arenas.
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