2024 NBA Draft: Knicks need wings and bigs, and the draft has plenty

Thursday’s NBA Draft is only days away, and as it stands, the Knicks own two first-round picks (No. 24 via the Dallas Mavericks, and their own No. 25) as well as the 38th pick in the second round.

There’s a chance the star-hunting Knicks emerge from draft night with no selections out of the 2024 class, instead opting to package their picks in a deal for a superstar caliber player who vaults New York to championship heights.

There’s also a chance, however, the Knicks use at least one, if not both of their first-round picks to add depth to a 50-win team ravaged by injury.

Here are the positions the Knicks could look to address in the draft, and some players who fit the bill should the Knicks decide to use their draft assets for themselves.

BIGS

The Knicks are in a precarious position at the center position entering Thursday’s draft.

Isaiah Hartenstein is an unrestricted free agent who has played himself into a pay raise the Knicks do not have cap space to match unless they shed salary.

Their most direct route to creating the space to re-sign Hartenstein is by trading Mitchell Robinson, a dominant rebounder and shot blocker who underwent two in-season surgeries on a left ankle that endured a pair of stress reactions last season.

The Knicks have already touched base with the New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards about a potential Robinson deal, according to reports, and it’s unlikely they pay both Hartenstein and Robinson, which would commit roughly $35 million in payroll to the center position on a team looking to make improvements elsewhere on the roster while keeping the luxury tax bill as low as possible.

So there’s a strong chance one or the other is gone this summer — that either another team outbids the Knicks for Hartenstein’s services and thus forcing them to hold onto Robinson, or that the Knicks move Robinson to offer Hartenstein a long-term contract larger than the four-year, $72 million deal they have on the table.

Precious Achiuwa is also entering restricted free agency, and Jericho Sims is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie deal and will be up for an extension — or a relocation — soon.

Which means it’s time for the Knicks to add depth at the five, and the draft provides a pool of untapped potential the Knicks can develop into an impact player of the future.

Only two centers are projected to go before pick No. 20 in Thursday’s draft: French seven-footer Alexandre Sarr, a projected top-three pick, and UConn’s Donovan Clingan, expected to be off the board before pick No. 10.

There are six big men, however, on the board between pick 20 and 40 fans should familiarize themselves with ahead of draft night:

• Kyle Filipowski, C, Duke
• Kel’el Ware, C, Indiana
• Zach Edey, C, Purdue
• Yves Missi, C, Baylor
• DaRon Holmes, PF, Dayton
• Adem Bona, C, UCLA

Of note here is Indiana’s Kel’el Ware, who shot the three at a 42 percent clip as a sophomore for the Hoosiers while also recording close to 10 rebounds and two blocks per game. The Knicks do not have a stretch five on the roster and Ware could check that box if he were drafted and developed in New York.

WINGS

The NBA is a wings league, and the Knicks have shown an ability to identify quality talent late in the first round, and even in the second round of draft classes (see: Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, Miles McBride and Jericho Sims).

The Knicks have also shown an ability to keep end-of-the-bench players ready for their opportunity should they get thrust into the fire due to an injury or trade involving a normal rotation player (see: Grimes and McBride).

Then there’s the elephant in the room: not only are the Knicks in a fragile place with OG Anunoby, who is reportedly seeking a payday larger than the Knicks are willing to give him this summer, but Anunoby also sustained two injuries that cost him significant time on the floor after his Dec. 30 arrival in New York via trade with the Toronto Raptors.

The Knicks can no longer afford to run Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo into the ground, and while Bojan Bogdanovic is a quality veteran offensive option, he is both on an expiring contract and a likely piece of an offseason trade should the Knicks strike one to improve the roster.

Luckily for the Knicks, this so-called weak draft class is loaded with wings projected to be available after the lottery.

• Ryan Dunn, SF, Virginia
• Terrence Shannon Jr., SG, Illinois
• Jaylon Tyson, SG, California
• Baylor Scheierman, SF, Creighton
• Pacome Dadiet, SF, France
• Kevin McCullar, SG, Kansas
• Justin Edwards, SF, Kentucky

Of these players, the Knicks are known to have invited Dunn and Scheierman in for pre-draft workouts.

Dunn averaged three blocks and 1.7 steals per game standing 6-7.5 tall but did not shoot the three at a serviceable clip and will need to improve that facet of his game to earn steady minutes at the NBA level. Defense, however, is the key to getting on the floor for head coach Tom Thibodeau, and Dunn competes at a high level on that end of the floor.

Scheierman averaged 18.5 points, nine rebounds, four assists and a steal as a fifth-year at Creighton and shot the three at a 38 percent clip on 8.3 attempts per game.

There is a chance the Knicks make no selections at all in Thursday’s NBA Draft, instead opting to package their picks together in a deal for a veteran player who can make an immediate impact on a roster looking to improve on last season’s second-round playoff appearance.

If the Knicks do keep their picks, however, reserve wings and bigs are areas of need, and areas they can address to pick up prospects they can develop into impact players on a team hoping to make a deep playoff run.