New York Knicks: Stars will come to NYC even without Zion

With the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery in the books, we now know where the Knicks will be picking. Unfortunately, it is not first and that could impact their offseason.

The New York Knicks, have “won” the third overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft which will take place on June 20th. NYK finished with the worst record in the NBA this past season, but because of the lottery, they did not get the top pick.

The Knicks were the most hyped up team going into the lottery for several reasons. Their excitement was caused by the optimism that this was the offseason where everything would get back on track.

First, they would draft Zion Williamson. Following the addition of college basketball’s most exciting player, they would add top-shelf free agents Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. The Knicks have room for two max contracts and for months it has been rumored that those two max contracts would turn into Irving and KD.

As Knicks Nation learned, the first step of that process hasn’t gone as planned and now their offseason could be completely derailed.

Zion Williamson is the best NBA prospect since Lebron James. The Duke forward averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game in his freshman year.

Not only that, but Williamson took home every single award possible for a college basketball freshman; ACC Freshman of the Year, Wooden Award, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, Naismith Award, ACC All-Freshman, ACC All-Defense, All-ACC and more.

He is one of the first incoming rookies in years who could significantly help teams recruit superstars. That was exactly the Knicks plan. They’d get Zion Williamson and once they had Zion they would move on to the high profile free agents.

However, now that it is virtually impossible to get the number one pick without a trade, is it possible for the Knicks to get Irving or Durant?