The New York Post came out with another report on the Knicks’ project intentions. According to the latest, New York is “seriously mulling over trading” in the upcoming draft, unless the unlikely scenario evolves that sees the best prospects LaMelo Ball or James Wiseman fall back to eighth overall pick.
If we were to link this report, which comes from the same source as the report above, we could reasonably believe that the Knicks would not have come back to get Cole Anthony, but maybe someone else.
Most draft experts have wide-ranging opinions on what the draft card will look like during draft night. Outside of the top picks, there isn’t a clear consensus on many of the best prospects. In other words, it’s possible that a player who drops to 15th place could be just as good, or better, than someone who was available earlier. If the Knicks can acquire extra resources by mistaking themselves for a neutral prospect, it might make sense to do so.
By acquiring extra choices, it could also give the front office the freedom to take a chance on a player they aren’t fully sold on. This is where Cole Anthony comes back into the discussion. Perhaps the Knicks are leaning on him as a better choice, but they would be happy to select him with a late first round or early second round selection as he is still available.