The NBA draft is on Thursday night and heading into the event the final mock draft for the top four has the Minnesota Timberwolves taking Karl-Anthony Towns, while the Lakers are picking D'Angelo Russell, the Philadelphia 76ers are taking Jahlil Okafor and the New York Knicks have Justise Winslow over picking Kristaps Porzingis or trading the pick.
The mock draft is obviously just a prediction and with so much trade talk going on, there is a good chance some of those picks change. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Wolves are set on Karl-Anthony Towns, while late reports have the Lakers considering Russell and Okafor. The Knicks are monitoring all situations closely, as they may trade back in the draft depending on how the first three picks go.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Knicks are "pursuing deals" to move out of the fourth spot and back in the first round, but the team wants to remain in the lottery. The Knicks won 17 games and they had hoped to get a top two pick, but they fell in the draft lottery and now they need some luck to get things going. The Knicks have looked at players like Frank Kaminsky, Cameron Payne and Trey Lyles as well as Kevon Looney and they likely can get those players if they trade back.
If the Lakers take Russell over Jahlil Okafor, it could leave the Knicks and Sixers to consider trades since New York wants to get Okafor if he slips past Los Angeles. Kristaps Porzingis and Emmanuel Mudiay are also options for the teams and Philly could look at taking Okafor to try and get the Knicks to trade for the pick. The Knicks are not expecting to get the chance to take Okafor, as many experts predict he will go to the Lakers, but reports late on Thursday have Russell as the likely option.
The Knicks have been working out a wide range of players, but Chad Ford at ESPN reports that the Knicks are down to "four names" if they use the number four pick. The team reportedly may consider trading down, as names like Frank Kaminsky could be available and allow the team to get draft picks. The Celtics are looking to move up and so are the Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Knicks should have the chance to trade their pick and it depends mainly on how much Phil Jackson wants to acquire over picking a player like Winslow at four.
Quick mock picks:
Wolves, Towns
Lakers, Russell
Sixers, Okafor (trade possible)
Knicks, Winslow (trade possible)
