How The 2021 NBA Draft Lottery can still impact the Knicks

Knicks are not in the NBA draft lottery this season it doesn’t mean the results won’t impact them. Once the lottery draft order is set, it will start a chain reaction of events, it will determine how trades are structured and where free agents sign.</p> <h2>The NBA Draft lottery could still have implications for the Knicks</h2> <p>How could we forget the 2019 lottery when the Lakers magically jumped up from the <em><strong>11th</strong></em> selection to the <strong><em>4th</em></strong> despite only having a <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/17/how-the-draft-lottery-impacts-the-knicks/"https://sports.yahoo.com/lakers-warriors-play-in-game-espn-best-nba-ratings-2019-playoffs-213504362.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">9% chance to move up</a>, and then the Pelicans winning the lottery despite <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/17/how-the-draft-lottery-impacts-the-knicks/"https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2829204-nba-draft-lottery-2019-projected-order-and-odds-for-every-team-involved" target="_blank" rel="noopener">only have a 6% chance</a>. Those unexpected lottery results are what made the Anthony Davis trade to the Lakers possible after multiple failed attempts prior to the draft lottery drawing.</p> <p>While we can make educated guesses on what will happen based on the odds, we do know that there will be surprises. There have been a lot since the lottery odds were flattened two years ago to discourage tanking. It’s predicting where those surprises will happen that is difficult. So, I will attempt to do so by understanding what the Commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver, would like to happen.</p> <p>The commissioner is tasked with growing the game and making sure the value of each franchise increases. The commissioner gets paid by the owners, that means he has 30 bosses to answer to. So there isn’t anyone that is praying to the “Basketball Gods” more than him. Below are what Adam Silver would like to happen in order for the 2021-22 season to be a success, having the Knicks be good is one of them.</p> <p><em><strong>Adam Silver’s Wish List</strong></em></p> <ul> <li>Warriors return to greatness</li> <li>Damian Lillard gets better teammates</li> <li>Best rookies go to small market teams</li> <li>Big market teams make the playoffs (Knicks)</li> </ul> <p>To be clear, I am not saying that the lottery is fixed, just curious if the “Basketball Gods” decide to answer the commissioner’s prayers. Let’s start with my predictions for the lottery, then see how the draft order will impact the Knicks.</p> <p><em><strong>14th Selection goes to Golden State ⇔ 97.6% probability</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>13th Selection goes to Indiana ⇔  92.9% probability</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>12th Selection goes to San Antonio ⇔ 85.2% probability</strong></em></p> <p><strong><em>11th Selection goes to Charlotte ⇔ 77.6% probability</em></strong></p> <p><em><strong>10th Selection goes to New Orleans ⇔ 60.6% probability</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>9th Selection goes to Sacramento ⇔</strong></em>  <em><strong>46.4% probability</strong></em></p> <p>I predict no changes for slots <strong>14 – 9</strong>, as you can see the odds of moving up are really low. Golden State only has a 2.4% chance of moving up, which would be all the way into the top 4. Sacramento has the 9th best odds with a 20.2% chance of moving up in the draft.</p> <p>The commissioner would prefer these teams stay put as they all have good players and can easily turn into playoff teams by making minor upgrades. Now on to the mid-lottery where the fun begins and the results start to impact the Knicks!!</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/17/how-the-draft-lottery-impacts-the-knicks/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Mid-Lottery Draft Order: 8th to 5th picks </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_112404" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/17/how-the-draft-lottery-impacts-the-knicks/"https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2017/07/14915902.jpeg">47.9%), Houston is ecstatic that they only fell 1 spot to the 2nd pick. The team with the worst record has a higher probability of landing the 5th pick than the 1st pick (<strong>14.0%</strong>). That was something no one mentioned in 2019 when the Knicks had the worst record. Knick fans should be grateful that the Knicks only slid to the 3rd pick and were able to draft RJ Barrett.</p> <p>While is doesn’t something Adam Silver would want to happen as Houston is a major market team that was forced to trade James Harden. Houston does have some good building blocks in place to get better quickly. They have Christian Wood, a healthy John Wall, a nice young player in Kevin Porter Jr., cap space, and lots of draft picks. Getting a franchise caliber player like Evan Mobley or Jalen Suggs will help accelerate Houston’s rebuild and help the fans get over the departure of James Harden.</p> <p><em><strong>1st Selection goes to Detroit ⇑ +1</strong></em></p> <p>Then there is Detroit, who is in the worst shape of all. If there are Basketball Gods, they would help the Detroit Pistons. Their owner, Tom Gores, is a great leader, who is willing to do what it takes to make the team good. Unfortunately, he leads the league in dead money. After just making the final <strong>$5.3M</strong> payment last season for the <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/17/how-the-draft-lottery-impacts-the-knicks/"https://www.clickondetroit.com/sports/2019/01/15/its-2019-and-the-detroit-pistons-are-still-paying-josh-smith/">buy out of a disgruntled Josh Smith</a> (<strong>$27M</strong>), he then has to turnaround and buy out Blake Griffin, <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/17/how-the-draft-lottery-impacts-the-knicks/"https://nba.nbcsports.com/2021/03/05/its-official-blake-griffin-bought-out-by-detroit-will-become-free-agent/">$62.43M stretched over 2 seasons. Let’s not also forget Derrick Rose, who pushed for a trade to the Knicks. Detroit only got a late 2nd round pick and Dennis Smith Jr. for a player that ended up leading the Knicks to the playoffs and <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/17/how-the-draft-lottery-impacts-the-knicks/"https://nba.nbcsports.com/2021/06/09/explaining-derrick-roses-first-place-mvp-vote/">earning 1 MVP vote</a>.</p> <p>It has to hurt Detroit to watch the two New York teams benefit at their expense. What Blake Griffin did is unheard of. He magically went from having bad knees and losing his athleticism, not dunking since 2019, to on occasion looking like “Lob City Blake Griffin” with some of the posterizing dunks he’s made in the playoffs.</p> <div class="embed "> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">Blake Griffin dusted Giannis and the Bucks in Game 2 🤯</p> <p>(➡️ <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/17/how-the-draft-lottery-impacts-the-knicks/"https://twitter.com/RUFFLES?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@ruffles) <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/17/how-the-draft-lottery-impacts-the-knicks/"https://t.co/a3s67rp4Cz">pic.twitter.com/a3s67rp4Cz

<p>— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/17/how-the-draft-lottery-impacts-the-knicks/"https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1402271330985287692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>June 8, 2021</a></p></blockquote> <p><script async src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/17/how-the-draft-lottery-impacts-the-knicks/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div> <p>The only way the Pistons will be able to compete in the near future will be by having good players on rookie salaries. Having over <strong>$64M</strong> in dead money on the books for through next season because of Blake Griffin has stripped them of their ability to acquire good veteran players.</p> <p>Now, that the NBA Draft Lottery order has been predicted; on to the possible ways it could impact the Knicks’ offseason.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/17/how-the-draft-lottery-impacts-the-knicks/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Potential Knicks trades based on draft lottery order </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_110389" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-110389" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/17/how-the-draft-lottery-impacts-the-knicks/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1145,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2020%2F07%2F1192428894.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1145" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2020/07/1192428894.jpeg 1600w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2020/07/1192428894-768x550.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">PORTLAND, OREGON – DECEMBER 06: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers tries to speak with CJ McCollum #3 after McCollum drew a technical foul during the second half of the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Moda Center on December 06, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. The Lakers won 136-113. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>What Bulls moving up in NBA Draft lottery means for Knicks</h2> <div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="Trade" data-team-ids="[34,27]" data-team-gets='[["CJ McCollum"],["Mitchell Robinson","Obi Toppin","Kevin Knox","Top 10 Protected 1st rd pick"]]'> <div class="playertrade remove-native-227"> <div class="trade"> <div class="team a"> <div class="logo"><img src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/17/how-the-draft-lottery-impacts-the-knicks/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_75,h_75,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.fansided.com%2Flogos%2Fnba%2Ftrailblazers.png">