NY Knicks Hope for Success in the NBA Draft Lottery

By: Danny Cacace

Here is Zion Williamson flexing off his biceps while smiling as he patiently waits to be called up potentially number one in the NBA Draft. Photo Credit: usatoday.com

The New York Knicks have just been served their 60th loss of the season by the Los Angeles Clippers, and cannot wait for this season to be already over.

The Knicks have been searching for some type of positivity for the past few seasons now and just cannot seem to find that beacon of hope. Yet the NBA Draft Lottery is coming up, and it looks like the Knicks have a chance at potentially having the #1 pick and getting the player that has been getting a lot of attention in sports media.

Zion Williamson who is playing for right now The Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball team has taken the sports media’s notice and let them know he deserves to be the number one pick in the NBA Draft. This is where the Knicks have to hope for that the lottery balls to go in their favor this time around to hope they get the number one pick in the NBA draft.

However, the 2019 NBA Draft has changed its rules for how it will work this season. The top three worst teams the regular-season all have the same chance at getting the number one pick which would be 14%. It used to be the worst team in the regular season had a 25% chance at the number one pick, the second had a 19.9% chance, and the third had a 15.6% chance at it.

At least, this gives the three worst teams in the regular-season the same chance at obtaining the number one pick.

Yet, that is not what the Knicks want, since they need a potential NBA star player to draw in players to come to their team in free agency.

Luckily for the Knicks, the draft is expected to be filled with tons of players with potential soaring through the roofs such as college basketball stars like R.J. Barrett who just hit the game-winner for Duke last night against the UCF Knights and another star like Ja Morant who is projected to be the third pick in the NBA Draft.

The NBA free agency market is also going to be filled with tons of talent this year with stars like Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Jimmy Butler who will all be free agents this year. Certainly, the Knicks have their eye on all of them and all the other talent, but its up to the players if they are willing to negotiate a contract with them.

The Knicks have two max contract slots open which means they have a chance at obtaining two NBA star players and can give them contracts worth the maximum amount of money they can receive along with having a chance at the number one pick in the NBA draft this year.

One might say, “Well, what happens if the odds do not go in the Knicks favor of getting the kind of team they want?”.

Well, the Knicks still got some pretty young talented player with the likes of an Emmanuel Mudiay who had a great game last night against the Clippers where he posted 26 points against them, and Mitchell Robinson who has been their young shot-blocking leading rookie.

There are other young gifted talent on this team where the Knicks can build a bright future around. These include the core group of guys along with whoever they get in the NBA draft and free agency.

However, the Knicks have to have hope and aim high this off-season, or else it can be another disastrous season ahead.

“The first few minutes I just told them to wake the hell up,” the Knicks Coach David Fizdale said in last night’s loss against the Clippers, as his team allowed them to have the game’s first 8 points. “We were still in bed those first couple of minutes. And then the final four, we really had four defensive breakdowns and they capitalized on each one of them.”

Well, the Knicks facing defensive breakdowns is nothing unusual, but only time will tell if they can get the team they desire and become the an offensive powerhouse.