A tumultuous, yet successful Knicks season has come to its conclusion, and the front office responsible for constructing and tinkering with a roster claiming both the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed and a second consecutive second-round playoff appearance must now make decisions to improve the team’s odds at a deeper playoff run next year.
One vehicle the Leon Rose-led front office is sure to utilize is its deep treasure chest of draft assets: But just how many do the Knicks own and how many can be traded?
THE KNICKS’ OWN PICKS
The Knicks own all of their first-round picks, including the No. 25 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
In fact, they made it a point to hold onto their firsts through a pair of mid-season trades, instead parting with only second-round draft capital and player assets in the deals for OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa with the Toronto Raptors, then Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks with the Detroit Pistons.
This means the Knicks own all eight of their first-round picks through 2031.
PICKS THAT WILL CONVEY FROM OTHER TEAMS
DALLAS (2024) – When the Knicks acquired Tim Hardaway Jr. in the Kristaps Porzingis trade with the Dallas Mavericks, they also acquired the first available Mavericks’ first-round pick — with top-10 protections — following the conveyance of the team’s first-round pick dealt to the Atlanta Hawks.
The trade with the Hawks finalized in 2021, meaning the first pick the Knicks were eligible for came in 2023, but the Mavericks lucked-out, landing pick 10 and trading it to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who selected Cason Wallace.
Fast forward a season, and the Mavs are in the Western Conference Finals, and their pick, 24th overall, is headed to New York.
This gives the Knicks the 24th and 25th picks in the 2024 NBA Draft, which they can either package together to move up in the draft order, or package together to use in a trade this offseason.
MILWAUKEE (2025) – The Bucks acquired Jrue Holiday by trading their 2025 first-round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans, who acquired C.J. McCollum by trading that pick to the Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers then acquired Jerami Grant using that pick in a deal with the Detroit Pistons, who ultimately sent the pick to New York in the Kemba Walker salary dump.
The pick is top-four protected in 2025, which means the Bucks, a title contender, would need to blow it up to retain their pick in next year’s draft class.
THE HEAVILY PROTECTED PICKS
The Knicks, picking at No. 11 in 2022, traded the rights to French forward Ousmane Dieng to the Oklahoma City Thunder for three first-round picks.
They used the No. 27 pick via Denver in 2023 to shed Walker’s salary in a three-team trade with the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets.
The others — Detroit’s top-18 protected pick, and a top-12 protected pick via the Washington Wizards — did not convey for this year’s draft.
These picks decrease in protections to increase the likelihood of conveying as seasons pass: The Detroit pick reduces to top-13 protections in 2025, top-11 in 2026 and top-9 in 2027 before it conveys as a 2027 second-round pick; and the Wizards pick is top-10 protected in 2025 and top-8 in 2026 before conveying as pair of second-round picks in 2026 and 2027.
It doesn’t help the Knicks that the Pistons (14-68) and Wizards (15-67) were the only teams in the NBA to finish with fewer than 20 wins this season. Neither pick is expected to convey in 2025, though the Wizards seem the most realistic to bounce to a middle-of-the-pack team.
HOW CAN THESE PICKS BE TRADED
The Knicks could have as many as six first-round picks over the next two draft classes, but two of those picks are unlikely to convey, which means they really have four picks and cannot trade one between their own two, Dallas’ 2024 pick and Milwaukee’s 2025 pick.
The Stephen Rule, according to Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ, is interpreted to mean a team cannot trade a first-round pick if there is any chance doing so leaves them pick-less in consecutive drafts, and with both Detroit and Washington’s picks unlikely to convey — though, again, the Wizards, who have Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma, could make a jump next season — the Knicks must keep one of the other four.
That leaves, however, any three of Nos. 24 and 25 in this year’s draft, the Knicks’ own 2025 first-round pick and Milwaukee’s 2025 pick eligible for traded, as well as Detroit and Washington’s protected picks. If the Knicks select 2025 as the year to use a pick, they will be able to trade additional first-round picks in 2026, 2028 and 2030. If they use a pick in 2024 and empty the coffers in 2025, they can trade additional picks in 2027 and 2029 and 2031.
This leaves the Knicks eight first-round picks they can split across multiple deals. And then, there are the loopholes.
The Knicks may not be eligible to trade one of their 2025 picks before the draft, for example, but they can draft a rookie on behalf of another team and trade him immediately after the selection as part of a larger deal. There are also pick swaps on the draft picks ineligible for trade.
And then of course, the Knicks could always trade a player for a first-round pick, adding value to Bogdanovic’s expiring contract, which is only guaranteed for $2 million of the $19 million before June 28.
The Knicks are one of the NBA’s more well-positioned teams to go star-hunting this offseason. They also have another tool at their disposal, one they used frequently to carry out mid-season trades this year.
THE SECOND-ROUND PICKS
The Knicks are adept at using second-round picks to facilitate deals: This season alone, they traded a highly-valued second-round pick via Detroit as additional compensation in the Anunoby deal, then sent another two picks to Detroit in the Burks and Bogdanovic deal.
The NBA rescinded the Knicks’ 2025 second-round pick as a penalty for tampering in free agency discussions with Jalen Brunson. The Knicks also traded away their 2024 second-round pick as part of the cap gymnastics needed to shed Walker’s salary.
The Knicks own their own second-round picks in 2027, 2030 and 2031. They have no second-round picks at all in 2026.
Teams can add protections on traded second-round picks and can also trade second-round pick swaps.
The Knicks own the following second-round picks acquired through trades:
- 2024: more favorable pick between Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers (2020 Ed Davis trade)
- 2025: Brooklyn’s pick via Cam Reddish trade with Atlanta Hawks; top-55 protected Pistons pick (unlikely to convey)
- 2027: less favorable of Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns picks (2023 Obi Toppin trade)
- 2029: less favorable of Pacers and Wizards’ picks (2023 Toppin trade)
How the Knicks navigate the use of their draft capital could dictate the number of stars they can hunt for in what is sure to be an active offseason, though the Knicks will need to send sufficient outgoing salary to acquire any superstar-level player, posing another set of questions to a front office with its hands full attempting to push the Knicks to heights not yet seen this generation.
