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For the first time since drafting Patrick Ewing No. 1 overall in 1985, the New York Knicks have moved up in the draft thanks to the lottery. WE DID IT!
But wait...aren’t the Knicks picking No. 9 overall? That’s not moving up, is it? I’m not talking about the first round, dummy. Because the Sacramento Kings jumped into to No. 2 spot, the Knicks’ second-round pick has moved up, from No. 37 overall to No. 36.
Keep in mind that the lottery results also affect teams with identical records in the second round: the Mavericks have No. 33 and the Hawks No. 34, and the Knicks will pick at No 36 (via Chicago) and the Kings at No. 37.
— Jeremy Woo (@JeremyWoo) May 16, 2018
Confusing! So it turns out that there’s a rule affecting teams who finish with identical records—the team who ends up with the worse first-round pick gets the better second-round pick. The Bulls originally won the coin flip with Sacramento, giving them the better first-round pick (No. 6 vs. No. 7) but the worse second-round pick (No. 37 vs. No. 36). That second-round pick was conveyed to the Knicks in the Carmelo Anthony trade. If you checked any two-round mock drafts prior to last night, you saw the Knicks picking at No. 37.
Now that the Kings have jumped over the Bulls in the first round, however, those second-rounders flip—Sacramento now picks at No. 37 and the Knicks pick at No. 36. Ergo, the Knicks have moved up one spot.
By the way, 2017 Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon was selected at No. 36. It’s not nothing!