The NBA draft lottery is Tuesday and this year teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves, NY Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers are looking to win it or end up in the top three and it comes as names like Jahlil Okafor, Karl-Anthony Towns, Emmanuel Mudiay, Willie Cauley-Stein and D'Angelo Russell are some of the notable players coming out.
The draft lottery will be held on Tuesday on ESPN and the teams mentioned above hope their names will be called last. The Knicks come in with the second worst record in the league behind the Timberwolves and there is a chance that they could trade their pick if it is not in the top three. The Knicks are hoping to get the chance to draft Okafor or Towns and it looks like those players are the consensus top two heading into the lottery.
The draft is not until next month and a lot can happen before that, but both the Knicks and Lakers are hoping to get into the top three to help push a fast rebuild. Both teams have broken things down and will be spending in free agency and they hope to start the offseason with a top draft pick. The worst team in the league has not won the draft lottery in a number of years and that gives the Knicks some hope of getting the top pick.
The Timberwolves come in with a 64 percent chance for the top three and the best chance for the number one pick at 25 percent. The Knicks are second and they have a 55 percent chance of making a top three pick and a 19 percent chance in the top pick. The Knicks would be happy with one or two, as that would mean a selection of Towns or Okafor. Phil Jackson has scouted Russell and has been quoted praising him as a prospect, but the team would rather have Towns or Okafor.
There is no "LeBron James" in this draft or rather a sure thing type of first pick and the combine and individual workouts will likely decide between Towns or Okafor for the top team. The Knicks would be satisfied at two, as they could get whoever is leftover and if they end up third, they could consider a trade. Jackson also may look at Cauley-Stein or Russell as options.
The Knicks have a ton riding on this offseason and if they do not get into the top three, Jackson may trade the pick for an "established player". The Knicks think they can turn things around fast, as they have Carmelo Anthony coming back healthy along with some young talent in Tim Hardaway and Langston Galloway. The team is expecting to sign some big name free agents and that could make for a quick turnaround, especially if they get someone like Greg Monroe or LaMarcus Aldridge.
The Lakers are looking to do the same and recent reports have the team chasing Monroe, Goran Dragic and Rajon Rondo. The team reportedly will; look at signing Rondo, but only at a certain price, which means not a max contract. The Lakers have the money to offer a max deal to Monroe or Aldridge as well.