Devils forward Paolo Banchero (5) during practice before the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament
SNY’s Ian Begley will be responding to and breaking down answers to Knicks questions from readers. Here’s the latest…
If the best player available in the draft is a power forward would the Knicks still draft 1 even though they have Toppin and Randle — (@logicallyknicks) Nicholas Gay
Great question from Nicholas. Let’s start here: The Knicks enter play Friday in a tight race for a Top 10 finish in the Lottery standings.
As of Friday afternoon, New York has the 10th worst record in the NBA. Three games separate six teams between seventh and 12th place in the Lottery standings.
Entering the weekend, the Knicks were a half-game “ahead” of Washington, which has the league’s 12th best record. They are 2.5 games “behind” Portland, which has the seventh-worst record in the NBA.
So the last 13 games will play a significant role in where the Knicks end up in the lottery.
I say all that to point out that there is a chance the Knicks luck their way into a top pick and have no choice but to take a Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren or Jabari Smith Jr.
But let’s assume that the Knicks pick between eighth and 10th on draft night.
In that case, it would be foolish for New York to take a power forward with its first pick.
Even if the best player available is a power forward, the Knicks should look at other options.
Over the past two years, we’ve seen how a logjam at one position can impact an organization.
As Nicholas points out, the Knicks drafted Obi Toppin with the No. 8 overall pick in 2020 even though they had Julius Randle under contract for at least one more season.
When the Knicks took Toppin, my understanding is that they were open to discussing trades of Randle with other teams. Obviously, they didn’t move Randle prior to Toppin’s rookie season. And Randle ended up having an All-NBA campaign, leading the Knicks to the playoffs.
Toppin averaged 11 minutes per game as a rookie. Randle agreed to a well-earned contract extension in the offseason. He’s averaging 35.5 minutes per game. Toppin is playing behind Randle, averaging 15 minutes per game.
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We can have a spirited debate over Tom Thibodeau’s use of Toppin and Randle.
But the bottom line is Toppin’s development – and his value around the league – has been negatively impacted by the Randle dynamic.
That’s something that will either hurt the Knicks in the present (due to less-than-ideal development) or in the future (due to development or lowered trade value). So there’s no reason for New York to add another power forward to the roster via the draft.
If they’re in position to take a power forward at the top of the draft, I’d assume that means they would trade either Randle or Toppin. As it is, the Randle/Toppin dynamic has been less than ideal so far for the Knicks.
