WELL THEN! Talk about anti-climactic. SMFH.

There is a data-driven article (paging Drew Steele) to be written about how between the lack of rising in drafts, the abundance of falling in drafts, and the strength of draft classes by player production, the Knicks’ horrid lotto luck since Ewing is unmatched by orders of magnitude… but this ain’t the time for that.

Here is your 2020 NBA Draft Order, for the top 8 picks:

1. (Jumped up 2 spots: 14% chance) Minnesota Timberwolves: Karmic horse shit given how they were already gifted arguably the most versatile offensive big of all time

2. Golden State Warriors: Annoying in a Spurs-Get-Duncan sorta way but not necessarily horseshit just given they had the worst record straight up (James' Note: Fuck that, you don't deserve a top-2 pick if you’re the Warriors)

3. (Jumped up 5 spots: 6.7% chance) Charlotte: Karmically acceptable (James' Note: Strong disagree. Fuck Michael Jordan)

4. (Jumped up 3 spots: 8.5% chance) Chicago Bulls: Karmic horse shit, given they were blessed with MJ and also nailed a <3% chance at their hometown No. 1 pick Derrick Rose

5. Cleveland

6. Atlanta

7. Detroit

8. YOUR NEW YORK KNICKS (20.6% chance this was the outcome, the second-highest of potential Knicks landing spots)

There are a few things that leap out to me about this sad, yet fascinating draft order:

Don’t count Minny out when it comes to LaMelo Ball: Anthony Edwards isn’t helping them on defense any more than LaMelo, and D’Angelo Russell has shown he can play with point guards, so if they think Melo is tops, they’ll pick him. Minnesota will likely pick whoever they think is a better prospect between Ball and Edwards without care for fit with D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley.

Stop your shitty trade proposals posthaste: Whether LaMelo ends up in Minnesota or Charlotte (and he’s not dropping past Charlotte), it’s gonna take quite a bit to move up. If he drops to Charlotte you’re talking 2021 Dallas Pick unprotected plus something(s?!) else. If Golden State or the Timberwolves wants to ransom him, you’re likely competing with Charlotte offering up picks and/or PJ Washington/Devonte Graham and their superior pick. You’re likely talking something beyond even sending both Dallas picks… like sending Mitch to Golden State. Is that overkill? Depends who you ask: If you really like LaMelo and plan on pseudo-tanking next year, probably not a huge deal… but if you ask most NYK fans, and likely if you ask Coach Thibs, it’s probably too steep a cost.

The…. Killian Hayes Sweepstakes?

Mike Schmitz, ESPN’s draft guru, has Hayes going 14th to Boston. Sam Vecenie of the Athletic has him going seventh to Detroit. Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report says he’s heard scouts all over the place on Hayes, from top five, to top 10, to outside of that. There is enough variability that he may drop to No. 8, but having the Pistons pick ahead of New York complicates that, as they need a point guard just as badly. Do they go for perceived BPA and take someone like Onyeka Okongwu over Hayes? It’s possible! All of us here at The Strickland have Hayes in our top three… are all these teams smoke-screening reporters by not talking him up? That’s possible too!

The mud: What’s the mud? Well, it’s the messy place where the Knicks are picking. Messy because there is a ton of variability and it’s easy to mock all sorts of players ending up available there. It could be Isaac Okoro, Devin Vassell, Obi Toppin, Hayes, Okongwu (BPA anyone?), or Patrick Williams. Just look at the variability within our own big board: Okoro’s highest and lowest ranks are 3 and 14, Okongwu’s are 4 and 9, Vassell’s are 5 and 6, Williams’ are 4 and 15, and Toppin’s are 7 and 13. That’s without including risky reaches like Aleksej Pokusevski or considering team positional needs, which often change the calculus dramatically.

Honestly, I’d be OK with pretty much any of these guys, even if I have my preferences. Also, for what it’s worth, unless they pick a gamble like Poku (or to a lesser degree, Williams), I don’t think any particular pick tips our front office’s hand regarding how they will approach the offseason (i.e. to what degree they might “tank”).

Trading the pick for help: I already see some of Knicks Twitter trying to brainstorm what kind of trades for older and more immediate help the eighth pick might enable. Surely it could be part of a trade for a sub-star type like Zach LaVine, Lauri Markannen or whoever the hell you wanna come up with, but I don’t see that in the cards. Brock Aller is someone who values cost-controlled contracts, and young lotto picks are the most cost-efficient deals outside of All-NBA maxes, so I don’t see it happening unless a true rising star becomes available (spoiler: they won’t this offseason). More likely is an egregious trade up for Ball, but both are less likely than “settling” for someone like Hayes, Toppin, or Okoro, all of whom move the franchise forward in meaningful ways. Hell, even Okongwu would allow big-man whisperer Kenny Payne to have two disciples, and potentially move one of them in the future after their value takes a leap. Not to mention it would let Coach Thibs have rim protection for 48 minutes, which as Kenny Atkinson (and Budenholzer before him) showed us, is an easy way to move your defense from bad to strong in short order.

The Verdict? TBD!

It is truly in new Assistant General Manager (and Director of Scouting) Walt Perrin’s hands, which is where you want it to be, all things considered, given his recent draft history. Peeps will have preferences for players, and you’ll hear more about that from The Strickland’s draft team in the weeks and months to come, but we can’t give you a good answer right now. Lady Luck has neglected us yet again, and we are left with more questions than answers for Leon Rose’s fresh-out-the-box front office team.