NBA Draft Lottery: Some names for the Knicks if they get lucky and if they don't
Paolo Banchero #5 of the Duke Blue Devils celebrates after a play during the first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Elite 8 Round at Chase Center on March 26, 2022 in San Francisco, California. Credit: Getty Images/Ezra Shaw
For the Knicks, this is a time of excitement and hope. And if history is a guide, by about 10 p.m. Tuesday, it will be a time of disappointment and regret.
They'll have another turn in the NBA Draft Lottery, where it feels as if the franchise has been atoning for the lingering rumors of a fix (spoiler — there wasn’t one) ever since the first lottery in 1985.
Back then, it seemed as if the NBA was intent on putting the Knicks, one of its marquee franchises, in place as a contender. There were stories of a frozen envelope, crimped corners of an envelope and about any other conspiracy theory one could conjure as they wound up with the opportunity to draft Patrick Ewing. But since then, the Knicks have endured a painful history in the lottery — in it far too often and experiencing painful results.
The Knicks have been in the lottery 17 times since that first try and have never moved forward in the draft — falling backwards seven times and finding their fate unchanged in the 10 other attempts.
With the 11th-worst record in the NBA, the Knicks enter this lottery with a 2% chance of earning the top pick and a 9.4% chance at moving into the top four. Their best odds are to remain at No. 11 — a 77.6% chance — and their next-highest odds (12.6%) is to drop to No. 12. We won’t even think about the chances of dropping to 13 or 14 in the draft if the Clippers, Hornets and Cavs all jump into the top three.
We’ll focus instead on the optimism and what the draft could hold to help the Knicks avoid finding themselves in the lottery again next summer — which would be the ninth time in 10 years.
Here are the best-case scenarios (five players to consider if the Knicks can jump into the top four) and the reality (five players to consider if the Knicks remain at 11 or drop to 12).
Game Seven awaits
No-win trade
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
