The New York Knicks are sitting on the third pick in the upcoming NBA Draft and they recently rejected an offer by the Atlanta Hawks, who were seeking to trade up in the draft to acquire the #3 pick by offering the Knicks a pair of first-round picks in the #8 and #10 slot.
The Hawks have grown keen on Jarrett Culver, who led Texas Tech to a spot in the championship game. Texas Tech plays relentless defense. Scouts love Culver’s ability to excel at both ends of the court.
The Hawks feel Culver would be a perfect addition to their back court that already includes scoring wunderkind Trae Young.
The Knicks were shopping the #3 pick and the Hawks sat down with them to discuss options. The Knicks were not interested in the Hawks final offer that included a pair of Top 10 picks.
2019 NBA DRAFT ORDER – TOP 5
1. New Orleans Pelicans
2. Memphis Grizzlies
3. NY Knicks
4. New Orleans Pelicans (via LA Lakers)
5. Cleveland Cavs
The New Orleans Pelicans already won the Zion Lottery with the top pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. They also acquired the #4 picks after shipping disgruntled Anthony Davis to the LA Lakers for a crazy haul that involved three draft picks and three players.
The Boston Celtics are heavily interested in moving up in the draft. Danny Ainge has three first-round picks and needs a point guard after Kyrie Irving’s impending departure to NYC to play for either the Brooklyn Nets or the NY Knicks.
Knicks Bumpy Offseason
The Knicks tanked this past season for the sole purpose of landing Zion Williamson. They hoped to add Zion to a lineup that included both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
After the Knicks got stiff-armed in the draft and only landed the third pick, they had to give up on Plan A (aka Tank for Zion). Plan B is luring both KD and Irving to play at MSG. However, KD blew out his Achilles after returning to Game 5 of the NBA finals for just 12 minutes. Durant is expected to miss most of next season… where ever he ends up.
The Knicks are under some weird hex that they can’t shake. It’s fitting that they would finally land a big-time free agent like Durant, but they’d be getting him on the back nine of his career with the serious injury looming overhead.
RJ Barrett or Darius Garland MSG Bound?
The Knicks were linked to RJ Barrett, 6-foot-7 swingman, the moment they were awarded the third pick in the draft. Hey, that’s not a bad thing.
The kid from Canada, who is expected to play for Nick Nurse for Team Canada in the upcoming FIBA World Cup, excelled at Duke for Coach K. He also carried the team when Zion injured his knee after a freak sneaker explosion against North Carolina.
GARLAND VS. BARRETT
RJ Barret (Duke): 22.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists
Darius Garland (Vanderbilt): 16.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists
Rumors out of New Orleans suggest that Zion asked the Pelicans to add RJ Barrett to the team. How much will it take for the Knicks to trade down one pick? Last year, the Hawks essentially swapped picks with the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs got Luca Doncic, while the Hawks got Trae Young and a first round pick this year.
Darius Garland, 6-foot-2 point guard, turned heads at workouts. Scouts liked what they saw during his freshman season at Vanderbilt. Sure, the Commodores were the bottom feeders of the SEC, but Garland stood out as the best player on the worst team in the conference.
Garland completed a private workout with the Knicks on the eve of the draft.
