The New York Knicks made their first trade under Leon Rose, packaging the 27th and 38th picks to move up to 23rd in today’s NBA Draft.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the transaction.
The Knicks have also acquired the rights on Croatian 7-foot-2 center Ante Tomic, Jazz’s 44th overall pick in 2008. Tomic is is not expected to play in the NBA.
Interestingly, both the 27th and 38th picks were acquired by the Knicks via previous trades.
The 27th pick was originally from the Los Angeles Clippers via the Marcus Morris trade deadline deal.
The 38th pick, meanwhile, came from the Charlotte Hornets in a 2018 trade involving Willy Hernangomez.
The Knicks must have liked a prospect that they wouldn’t want to slide beyond the 23rd pick.
The 23rd pick also gives the Knicks a much more significant asset than the 28th pick for a bigger move down the road.
If they stand pat, the prospects who could be available at No. 23 that were previously linked to the Knicks are Stanford’s Tyrell Terry, Washington’s Isaiah Stewart, TCU’s Desmond Bane, Arizona’s Josh Green, North Carolina’s Cole Anthony, San Diego State’s Malachi Flynn, and Maryland’s Jalen Smith.
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