The NBA on Thursday downplayed its first virtual draft lottery of Thursday, as it will not have all the bells, whistles and the usual full transparency due to COVID-19 security measures.
But it’s a night bigger than ever for the Knicks and their rookie president, Leon Rose, who will represent the club on the ‘dais” lottery via Zoom. ‘Lucky Leon,’ ‘who will wear a heel charm, will eventually figure out if he will be positioned to select the top scorer on her board, LaMelo Ball.
COVID-19 has not changed the odds – just the date of the lottery and draft day (October 16). Seeded sixth, the Knicks have a 9 percent chance of winning the lottery and a 27.6 percent chance of going to the top three.
Ball is expected to be a top-three pick, likely fighting with Georgia shooter Anthony Edwards and Memphis big man James Wiseman. Ball and Edwards will appear on the ESPN telecast, which begins at 8:30 p.m.
The Post has reported that the preference is that Ball is New York and its dealers are not afraid to send him there. Father Lavar Ball has already declared that the Knicks are the top pick.
“I will make it very comfortable to make the call,” Rose said in an MSG Network interview in late June.
The Knicks could just as easily fall back. At that point, the Knicks were able to pull off a draft night trade and move on to gather more assets in what is seen as an equivalent concept.
In fact, the greater chance the Knicks did not raise. They have a 62.8 percent chance of choosing between 6-10. That would put point guard and Manhattan product Cole Anthony in play, as the Knicks’ preference is for a scoring point guard.
‘It’s interesting, this concept, a few guys stand up, and then there’s a lot of similarities,’ ‘Rose said. ‘I think there are a lot of guys who are close with different skill sets, different positives, different negatives. It’s funny, every scout, there are differing opinions. Many more differing opinions than in recent years. ‘
The trial will take place in Secaucus, NJ, instead of a spacious Chicago hotel room due to the pandemic. The results will be read by Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum.
Shortly before the unveiling, the ping pong balls will roll into a separate room. Normally, a representative for each of the 14 lottery teams and selected media invitees would be on hand as witnesses. To limit travel and social distance protocols, this will not happen this time.
According to the NBA, the only people in the drawing room will be a media member, NBA officials and representatives of Ernst & Young’s accounting firm. ”
The Knicks, who have not made the playoffs since 2013, were capitals in the lottery, but have not had much ping-pong luck in recent years after winning the first lottery in 1985. Striking on the dais were legends Patrick Ewing , Walt Frazier and Allan Houston and directors Scott Perry and Steve Mills.
The Knicks decided to select a player like RJ Barrett to represent them on Thursday. Stephen Curry (Golden State), D’Aaron Fox (Sacramento), D’Angelo Russell (Minnesota), Rui Hachimura (Washington) and Devonte ‘Graham (Charlotte) are the only reps.
Rose was on the other side of the table last lottery as one of the top agents of the game. Now he has surrounded himself with a handful of new college scouts.
While the Knicks’ top college scout, Gerald Madkins, and Human Resources Director, Harold Ellis, are leaving the organization, Rose still has GM Scott Perry (his name is running as a candidate to return to Sacramento). Rose has added top college scout Walter Perrin from the Jazz and a growing collection of staff from analytical departments.
“We watched a ton of movies,” Rose said. ‘We have Zoomed interviews with perspectives for the concept. We obviously miss an NCAA tournament and do not know what a combination will be. We’re going to make the most of it. Now we have a lot more time to prepare. ”
The proposed concept combination is likely to be a virtual event, despite internal calls from a live – albeit diminished – one in September. The Knicks have three picks in the top 38. Thursday they find out how valuable their best one is.
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