A new report confirmed the New York Knicks are considering trading down in the 2015 NBA draft. Knicks president Phil Jackson is entertaining the idea of trading down for either Cameron Payne or Frank Kaminsky if Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor and D'Angelo Russell are all off the board by the fourth pick, according to ESPN's Chad Ford. If Jackson does choose to trade down, he reportedly may target Ty Lawson and - or - Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets.
Basketball Insiders' Steve Kyler reported last week New York was seriously considering trading down in the upcoming draft, and on Monday Ford confirmed the team was entertaining the idea and offered details on a possible scenario.
"Sources say the Knicks are entertaining trading down in the draft if Towns, Okafor and Russell are all taken in the top three picks," Ford wrote. "It sounds as if they remain on the fence about both Emmanuel Mudiay and Porzingis. That's why they've been looking at players such as Cameron Payne and Frank Kaminsky in recent workouts. If the Knicks can get a valuable veteran and still land somewhere in the back end of the lottery, it might make more sense for them than taking a player they aren't sold on at No. 4.
"We know several teams, including the Nuggets and Pacers, are trying to move up in the draft."
The possibility of New York trading with Denver was raised by Kyler, who reported last week Jackson may be eying a trade for Lawson and/or Faried. The asking price for both Nuggets players would likely be too high, making Lawson the no-brainer choice if Jackson were to pull the trigger on a trade.
Jackson's counterpart in Denver, Josh Kroenke, said he was open to moving any player. Ford took it a step further and said Denver wasn't just open to trading one of its players but was "aggressively" trying to do so - especially if it landed them a top 5 pick in the 2015 draft.
One of New York's needs is a point guard, and with Denver seemingly headed for a rebuild, a Knicks-Nuggets deal involving Lawson - a 27-year-old disgruntled player that has trade value - makes sense for both sides.
Moreover, for the Knicks, acquiring Lawson would give the team a veteran with All-Star potential to help Jackson win now. Lawson would then give the Knicks a slightly better-looking roster for Jackson to pitch to free agents in July, when a number of talented bigs are expected to hit the market. New York has been linked to virtually every soon-to-be free agent, with the long list including: Marc Gasol, DeAndre Jordan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love, Brook Lopez and Greg Monroe.
Out of all the aforementioned bigs, Monroe likely is the most attainable. A league executive went as far as telling the New York Daily News in April that a Knicks-Monroe deal was "about as close to a done deal as you can get."
New York is projected to have enough cap space to offer a max-level contract to one player and a shorter deal in the $10 million to $12 million range to another. DeMarre Carroll and restricted free agent Tobias Harris potentially could be had at the latter deal, but the odds are incredibly low of acquiring either player at that price range - unless Jackson is able to get financially creative and work out a way to pay somebody like Carroll in $15 million per season range.
Misc. Draft Note:
Russell cancelled his visit and his workout, which were both scheduled for this past weekend, with the Philadelphia 76ers at the last minute on Friday. One report indicated Russell cancelled because of an illness. But assuming the Los Angeles Lakers don't take Russell at No. 2, it's possible - unless Russell reschedules - that cancelling was Russell's way of telling Philadelphia not to draft him.
If the 76ers are set on drafting Russell, as it seems they are, Russell's cancellation wouldn't have much of an impact their decision. Still, it doesn't hurt the Knicks' chances of Russell still being on the board for the No. 4 pick.
