Ford: Knicks still considering trading down if Towns, Okafor, and Russell are gone

For weeks now we've been hearing that certain prospects might be overtaking the presumed Big 3 of Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor and D'Angelo Russell. Emmanuel Mudiay is wowing teams with his athleticism. Kristaps Porzingis makes prime Dirk look like a raggedy hobo throwing Nerf balls into trash cans.

It may come as a surprise, then, to hear that the Knicks are still contemplating moving back in the draft, per ESPN's Chad Ford:

ESPN's @chadfordinsider writes that the #Knicks are considering trading their pick if Towns, Okafor & Russell are off the board, per sources

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 15, 2015

OK, first things first: I am of the opinion that there is pretty much a 90 percent chance those are the first three names off the board. Karl Towns isn't getting past No. 2, so it's really down to Okafor and Russell. The Lakers aren't going to draft Mudiay, and the Sixers aren't going to panic because of Joel Embiid's foot injury. The two bigs will go one-two, and Russell will go third. The wild speculation leading up to the draft is mostly bullshit. These are the Knicks; great players do not drop to the Knicks.

So would Phil Jackson actually trade that No. 4 pick if things don't go his way in the top 3? They are working out trade-down candidates like Frank Kaminsky , but they are also working out potential No. 4 picks like Mudiay, Justise Winslow and Willie Cauley-Stein. In other words, they're doing their due diligence.

None of the Big 3 have even worked out for the Knicks as yet -- though Russell is scheduled to do so.

Let's get to this draft already, so we can find out one way or another.