[h1]
Knicks should explore trades for No. 8 pick[/h1]Alan Hahn 11:53 AM EDT, May 20, 2009On the anniversary of the infamous "frozen envelope," a legend that always makes David Stern turn his head and frown, the
NBA had reason to rig it again.
Stern regularly denies any tampering with that inaugural draft lottery in 1985, when it has been said that
the Knicks envelope was frozenso Stern would know which not to choose until the end. It was a coup for the league to get
Patrick Ewing, one of the most dominantcollege basketball players of all-time, in its largest media market. It just happened to work out that way, of course, though the anti-New York bias willalways cry foul.
Since then, painstaking steps have been taken to ensure the lottery drawing is as random as Nate Robinson's hairstyles. They take representatives into awindow-less room, confiscate all cell phones and Blackberrys - No Tweeting! - and hold the official drawing there with the very serious number crunchers fromthe firm Ernst & Young monitoring everything. No tricks, no weighted dice. No frozen lottery balls. Just luck.
And the NBA awoke Wednesday to this realization: Blake Griffin is going to be a Clipper.
That really happened?
There was some anticipation for a few fleeting moments, as the Oklahoma City Thunder, the relocated Sonics franchise that had such an amazing instant loveaffair with its new city, was in - as
Ryan Seacrest would say - the bottom three. But the hope of landing the Oklahoma Sooner sensation ended quickly asthe Thunder's placard was revealed with the No. 3 pick.
A sigh was heard in the studio. It matched the groan that came when the Knicks were revealed at the No. 8 spot.
So much for drama. But perhaps there is much more to unfold here over the next five weeks, until the NBA Draft on June 25. You could already sense theuneasiness from those teams who did not get into the top three. The
Washington Wizards, who had thesecond-worst record this season but fell to the fifth pick, are believed to be strongly considering trades because, with a playoff-caliber roster loaded withveterans, they would prefer to get immediate help rather than another project. Others, especially after the workouts, may concur.
This draft will produce a crop of talent (they all eventually do), but how soon that crop develops is debatable. Some teams don't want to wait and, ifthey're willing to trade, don't have to wait. The Knicks, who need to show some legitimate promise this season to attract free agents next summer, maynot have much time to wait.
Still, unless a player like Stephen Curry - or some of the others - does enough at the NBA Combine next week and in his individual workout to make you believehe can be a difference-maker, the best play for Donnie Walsh and the Knicks might be to engage in trade talks for the No. 8 pick. It is a valuable commoditythat, packaged properly, could jump-start the 2010 Plan more effectively than drafting another young player who will take at least a season or two, if notmore, to develop.
"That isn't always easy to do," Walsh said as he acknowledged my suggestion. "Likely in our situation, a team would have to take a player inthe deal because we're over the cap. And if they're over the cap too, that could cause a problem."
Yes, these types of trades are often very complicated. But with a great deal of financial concerns around the league, a pick-swap could be the deal-maker in anattempt to get a player such as
Tyson Chandler, Chris Bosh or even
Steve Nash, each of whom could be available this summer.
While putting a great deal of focus on potential draftees over the next five weeks, Walsh will also kick plenty of tires, there's no doubt about it. And hewon't be the only one.
