Knicks Could Hamper Celtics' Move For Anthony Davis With Draft Lottery Win

The New York Knicks management including owner James Dolan, team president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry remain confident the team will have a strong offseason to put behind the disappointment of the 2018-19 campaign. They finished the season with the worst record in the NBA - 17-65 – and are now hoping to win the Draft Lottery and land the No.1 pick.

The Knicks has a 14 percent chance along with the Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers and they will be hoping they get lucky, similar to 1985, when they picked Patrick Ewing as the overall No.1 pick. This time around, there is no secret that Zion Williamson will go as the No.1 pick to whichever team lands the top pick in the lottery.

The New York franchise need to rebuild the team before next campaign and could either use Williamson to be a part of the team or, according to ESPN, use him as part of a trade package to convince the New Orleans Pelicans to part with Anthony Davis, who is already a superstar in his own right and considered among the top three players in the NBA at the moment.

The offer of the No.1 pick could sway the Pelicans over the trade packages that are certain to be put forward by Celtics, who are big admirers of the power forward and the Lakers, which has been desperate to land him even before the trade deadline in February this year.

However, the Knicks could decide to keep the country’s top prospect and make him part of the team that could include two top free agents. The team possess a league-high $74 million in max salary cap space and is ready to use all of it if the right players are available.

Kevin Durant has been heavily linked with a move to the Madison Square Garden with multiple reports stating that a deal has already been agreed. He has denied those claims by stating that no decision has yet been made, but it could be his last campaign with the Golden State Warriors.

The two-time NBA champion and finals MVP is unlikely to move to New York to be a part of the rebuilding process and will want the team to be able to challenge for the title almost immediately. He is expected to team up with another free agent, namely, Celtics’ Kyrie Irving, who will also enter free agency on July 1.

The Knicks is expected to flex its financial muscle in the summer with a number of top players entering the free agent market, but the management is clear that they will not throw money just for the sake of attracting top players. They are looking at players who will be committed to getting them back to the glory days having not won a playoff series in the last 18 years.

"We have created a tremendous amount of financial flexibility, which has put us in a position to potentially sign up to two max free agents. Most importantly, we will use our cap space diligently and only on players who believe in our plan and are committed to building the New York Knicks into the championship team that you deserve,” a letter from the New York Knicks management to the season-ticket holders read.