The NBA Draft is a few weeks away and while the world is focused on the NBA Finals the first of the NBA Draft day trade winds have begun to blow. According to sources the Knicks are flirting with the idea of trading down from their current spot to better equip their roster with pieces in the event that Kyrie Irving and/or Kevin Durant come to town.
Are the Knicks a lock to draft RJ Barrett at No. 3? Not quite. They are definitely exploring a number of alternatives, for example the possibility of sliding back and acquiring the No. 8 and 10 picks from the Hawks. That and much more here: https://t.co/h4ygUShm10 pic.twitter.com/cPTj5VwnAG
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 31, 2019
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz were the first to break the story. There are two schools of thought here if you are a Hawks fan. The first being that Hawks GM, Travis Schlenk isn’t afraid to pull draft day trades like he did last year with the Trae Young and Luka Doncic deal. The second is that this is a time when a lot of teams are playing poker so you have to take each story with a grain a salt.
We aren’t saying that this could be a smoke screen but more stories like this will arise as draft day comes closer. I do believe that there are talks but for now that is all we know.
From a Hawks standpoint, the idea of moving up in the draft isn’t the best move when there are clearly only 2 players with star potential. However, if the Hawks have a guy that they simply love head and shoulders above the rest then the risk-reward might be enough for them to pull the trigger.
We will keep our eyes on this story so stay tuned.
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