History and trends from the Knicks in the NBA Draft Lottery era
The 2020 NBA Draft marks the 36th since the inception of the draft lottery in 1985. The New York Knicks have participated in all but three — 1993, 1995 and 2016. The Knicks have the eighth and 23rd picks this year. While two draft picks are more than plenty, fans might be surprised to learn that the Knicks had five first- and second-round picks in 1979, clearly the blueprint for the Philadelphia 76ers in the Sam Hinkie era.
Thirty-plus years of Knick drafts provide a multitude of random, fun, quirky, and earth-shattering facts. While some are common knowledge, others are more obscure and may provide a more complementary experience to enjoying draft day.
Lotto picks in the single digits
Since the inception of the lottery, the Knicks have drafted nearly everywhere from 1-9, with the exception of the No. 2 pick (they were slated for the second pick in 2006, but traded it a year earlier to Chicago as part of the Eddy Curry deal):
1: Patrick Ewing
3: RJ Barrett
4: Kristaps Porzingis
5: Kenny “Sky” Walker
6: Danilo Gallinari
7: Nene (traded to Denver for Antonio McDyess)
8: Channing Frye; Jordan Hill; Frank Ntilikina; this year’s pick
9: Kevin Knox
Interestingly, the Knicks have never drafted 10-14 as a lottery team. They did in the pre-lottery era — notable examples include Ray Williams (No. 10 in 1977) and Mike Woodson (No. 12 in 1980).
Greg Anthony (No. 12 in 1991), is sort of an exception, but not really. While the 12th pick is a lottery pick now, that wasn’t the case in 1991, when only 11 teams qualified for the lottery. The 1990-91 Knicks barely made the playoffs, and thus received the 12th pick.
The history of the trade down
If there’s one thing the Knicks are notorious for, it’s trading future first round picks. The Knicks have been linked to some players projected below their draft spot this year, like Kira Lewis Jr. and Saddiq Bey, leading to speculation that they might be looking to move down in the draft. Surprisingly enough, however, the Knicks only traded down in a draft once: the ill-fated 2002 draft.
The Knicks snapped their 14-year playoff streak after 2001-02. They received the seventh pick and a myriad of options to draft a cornerstone player. Instead, the Knicks gambled and traded the pick (Nene) along with Marcus Camby and Mark Jackson to Denver for Antonio McDyess, the 25th pick, and a 2003 second.
McDyess ruptured his patella tendon early in the season. He returned in March to play 10 games. The Knicks and their medical staff thought McDyess looked good in those 10 games and that he’d return to his normal self for the 2002-03 season. McDyess certainly did in the preseason, averaging 17.7 points and 13.0 rebounds per game through three games. Unfortunately, he’d fracture his patella on a dunk attempt and miss the remainder of the season. He only played 18 games with the Knicks before being sent to Phoenix in the Stephon Marbury trade.
As for the draft picks, the 25th turned into Frank Williams. Williams received consistent minutes to start 2003-04, but that dwindled after the team acquired Marbury. After the season, the Knicks dealt him to the Bulls in the trade that netted Jamal Crawford. The 2003 second-rounder famously became Maciej Lampe. Lampe was instantly cheered when the Knicks drafted him, but somehow the cheers didn’t translate to any playing time. He was jettisoned to the Suns in the Marbury trade.
The symmetry of the No. 8 pick
This is the fourth time since 1985 the Knicks will pick eighth. In 2005, they drafted Arizona big man Channing Frye. Frye spent two seasons in New York before the team dealt him to the Portland Trailblazers for Zach Randolph. In 2009, the Knicks tapped into their Arizona roots again and drafted big man Jordan Hill. Sadly, Hill lasted all of half a season with the Knicks before being sent to Houston in a multi-team trade that netted half a year of Tracy McGrady and Sergio Rodriguez — and a boatload of cap space heading into the summer of 2010, with LeBron James’ free agency the primary motivator. In 2017, the Knicks took Frank Ntilikina.
Barring a trade in the coming weeks, Ntilikina will reach the final year of his rookie contract still a Knick. The only other Knicks draftees to accomplish that this decade are Porzingis and Iman Shumpert. If the Knicks hope to achieve symmetry with the No. 8 pick, perhaps French guard Killian Hayes is destined for the orange and blue.
The Strickland story
It wouldn’t be a Strickland draft story without going through the long-fabled story of the Bronx-bred Rod Strickland. After four stellar seasons at DePaul, the Knicks drafted Strickland 19th in 1988, a byproduct of the Charles Oakley/Bill Cartwright trade and swapping first- and third-round picks with the Bulls. Chicago drafted Will Perdue with the Knicks’ pick.
Perdue won three championships with the Bulls and another with the Spurs (who, coincidentally enough, defeated the Knicks). Strickland served as Mark Jackson’s backup and demanded a trade a year later after wanting more minutes. New York obliged and traded him to San Antonio for Maurice Cheeks. The DePaul roots came to fruition during the Isiah Thomas era. He acquired DePaul alum Quentin Richardson (trade) and Wilson Chandler (draft) in 2005 and 2007.
Draft day trades
When it comes to draft day trades, the Knicks are mostly on the receiving end of draft picks, outside of the McDyess deal and one other trade: in 2000 they traded the draft rights to first-round pick Donnell Harvey and John Wallace to the Dallas Mavericks for Erick Strickland and the draft rights to Pete Mickael.
For the most part, the Knicks have aggressively acquired picks during the draft. One notable acquisition was in 2005, when the Knicks acquired the 21st pick and Quentin Richardson from the Suns for Kurt Thomas and the draft rights to Dijon Thompson. That pick became Nate Robinson, who won three Slam Dunk Contests as a Knick and unofficially entered the NBA Summer League Hall of Fame.
In 2009, the Knicks sent around $3 million in cash to acquire the Los Angeles Lakers’ first-round pick. New York drafted Toney Douglas, who spent three seasons with the team.
Another notable deal was a three-team trade in 2015, when the Knicks shipped Tim Hardaway Jr. (who was attending a draft day party at Clyde’s Wine and Dine) to the Atlanta Hawks for the draft rights to Jerian Grant. The Knicks later acquired the rights to Willy Hernangomez from Philadelphia. It was a busy 2015 draft for Phil Jackson’s Knicks.
To this date, Nate Robinson remains the only Knick first-round pick to accept a qualifying offer from the team. The Knicks foolishly offered a qualifying offer to Patrick Ewing in 1991, only to have it flatly rejected. David Lee also received a qualifying offer, but the team agreed to a larger one-year deal worth $7 million.
Short tenures
One reason the Knicks have failed to develop long-term success is because the team hasn’t been able to draft franchise cornerstones and keep them beyond their rookie contracts. Since 1985, the Knicks have drafted 40 players of some significant relevance. This list excludes almost all the players drafted in the second round or later before 2000, simply due to the fact that they played limited minutes or were immediately waived. The list also excludes various first-round picks (Don’Tae Jones; John Thomas) who never played a minute in New York.
Of those 40, the average length of tenure is 2.89 years and the median is two years. These numbers are inflated because they include Patrick Ewing and Charlie Ward, two Knicks who received contracts beyond their rookie deal. However, even excluding Ewing and Ward, as well as RJ Barrett and Iggy Brazdeikis due to them being rookies, the average length of tenure is just 2.47 years; for first-round picks, just 3.54 years — 2.84 excluding Ewing and Ward. Knick draft picks barely last through their rookie deal, and none have signed a rookie extension since Ward in 1999.
Players like Lampe, Hill, and Slavko Vranes lasted half a season before being traded or waived. Players from Strickland to Monty Williams to Hernangomez requested trades shortly after their first year and the team kindly obliged. Ntilikina and Damyean Dotson have been on the team longer than expected, but there’s no guarantee either will remain to start the season. Perhaps Barrett, Mitchell Robinson and some of the current Knick core can remain on the team through at least their second contracts, breaking the “Charlie Ward curse.”
