With the NBA Draft just hours away, the various scenarios for the New York Knicks are wide-ranging and include the team possibly trading out of their pick at 11.
Heading into the week, it seemed like there were two ways the 2022 NBA Draft could go for New York. They would stay put and get the best player available at the 11th selection, or they achieved their top goal by trading up to the fourth pick and taking highly coveted Purdue guard Jaden Ivey.
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However, with the asking price in the Ivey sweepstakes getting too steep, it seems the organization has shifted gears to two different strategies beyond staying pat at 11. In one scheme, SNY Knicks beat writer Ian Begley reported on Thursday that the team may still trade up, but a move to five is a possibility and Kentucky product Shaedon Sharpe could be the target.
“There’s another player who has been on their radar to keep an eye on in trade-up scenarios: Shaedon Sharpe. Sharpe has had fans in high places within the organization. He is projected to go before the Knicks pick at 11, so the club would probably have to move up to select Sharpe, a 6-foot-6 guard. Sharpe’s talent is undeniable. However, he sat out of the college season at Kentucky, so the traditional tools for evaluation aren’t available to teams interested in Sharpe.”
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Knicks president Leon Rose and executive vice president William Wesley are long-time friends of Kentucky coach John Calipari. So, despite the lack of traditional ways to evaluate Sharpe, you would imagine the Knicks are likely getting special intel on Sharpe’s upside from one of the best sources available.
New York Knicks could trade down in the 2022 NBA Draft
If the organization’s pursuit of trading up in the draft does not pan out, there is a chance they could listen to offers for their selection and move down in the draft order. On Thursday, ESPN NBA Insider Brian Windhorst suggested the possibility during an appearance on Sportscenter.
“If the Knicks are not able to move up in this draft, it wouldn’t stun me if they move back,” Windhorst said. “From what I am told, they have a lot of interest from teams behind them to move up to the eleventh spot. And I’ll point out that Leon Rose the last couple of years has moved around regularly in the first round. Up and down, left and right. It wouldn’t stun me if the Knicks don’t end up at 11 when we’re all said in done.”
Both options seem like logical if the team doesn’t see a player that matches the value of their pick when they are on the clock at 11. On the Sportsnaut NBA mock draft, the Knicks are projected to take Memphis center, Jalen Duren.