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Welp. I’m honestly not sure why I was even nervous. There was literally no chance things wouldn’t happen this way. The Knicks will be picking 8th in the 2017 NBA draft, meaning they moved down a slot from where they would’ve been had no team moved up. New York had a 22.6% chance of landing the 8th pick.
The top three picks are going to the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and Philadelphia 76ers, in that order (as if the lottery couldn’t have already gone poorly enough).
According to a quick sampling of recent mock drafts, players that may be available at pick #8 include Malik Monk, De’Aaron Fox, Jonathan Isaac, Dennis Smith, Frank Ntilikina, and Lauri Markkanen (please no). I’m not trying to suggest that all of these players will be available, but at least one or two should be.
Technically, it could’ve been worse, but it really doesn’t feel that way right now. Oh well. Let’s hope we draft a superstar!