New York Knicks Land 4th Pick In NBA Draft Lottery

For the New York Knicks, this marks the 30 year anniversary of the first NBA Draft Lottery, when they landed transcendent Georgetown center Patrick Ewing, jump starting their dormant franchise for one of the greatest stretches in franchise history. Unfortunately they were never able to bring home the hardware of an NBA Championship trophy having to battle against Michael Jordan in the Eastern Conference, and when he was out of the NBA running into the Hakeem Olajuwon led Houston Rockets.

There was much controversy surrounding the lottery back then, as many conspiracy theorists believe it was rigged for the Knicks to get the top pick. Well, on the 30th anniversary the Knicks weren’t as lucky this time around, as they won the 4th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Going into the lottery the Knicks had a 19.9 percent chance of landing the first pick, but actually fell two spots as they were jumped by the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers.

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The Knicks haven’t had much luck with their first round draft picks recently, as many of them have either been selections that were later in the first round from questionable trades, or players they never truly let develop and shipped off in trades seemingly right after they put on a Knicks jersey. David Lee, who was selected 26th overall in 2005 had the longest career with the Knicks as a first round draft pick at five seasons since Charlie Ward played nine and a half seasons with the team starting in 1994.

But, this will be the first top-five pick for the Knicks since 1986 when they selected Kenny Walker out of Kentucky with the fifth overall pick. Could the Knicks be adding another Kentucky player this time around with their first round pick? The Knicks are extremely high on Kentucky center Karl-Anthony Towns, supposedly having him as their top ranked prospect on their board. They are also intrigued by his starting front court mate Willie Cauley-Stein, who fits the mold of a defensive minded player that Phil Jackson has said the Knicks are interested in adding in favor of an offensive minded big man.

At the number four pick, there is a good chance that Towns is off the board, so the Knicks could be focusing on the point guard position. They have scouted Emmanuel Mudiay extensively, but could also like what Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell brings to the table. Both have a better chance of being around at four than Towns or Okafor. A trade down could now come into play for the Knicks, as they could target someone such as Cauley-Stein or Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky later on in the lottery and pick up some more assets along the way.

Here is how the rest of the lottery played out:

1. Minnesota Timberwolves

2. Los Angeles Lakers

3. Philadelphia 76ers

4. New York Knicks

5. Orlando Magic

6. Sacramento Kings

7. Denver Nuggets

8. Detroit Pistons

9. Charlotte Hornets

10. Miami Heat

11. Indiana Pacers

12. Utah Jazz

13. Phoenix Suns

14. Oklahoma City Thunder

Next: Who is the best Knicks PG of all-time?

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