Knicks Named NBA Draft Winner

The New York Knicks made some strong moves during the 2024 NBA Draft.

Kansas guard Kevin McCullar Jr. (15) lays up the ball past Oklahoma forward Sam Godwin (10) in the first half during an NCAA basketball game between The University of Oklahoma (OU) and The University of Kansas (KU), at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman Okla., on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY

The New York Knicks are in the trenches of free agency looking to sign Isaiah Hartenstein back, but they should also be celebrating the work they made during last week's NBA Draft.

The work in the draft has helped them position themselves this week to try and keep Hartenstein and maintain maximum flexibility after making some big moves on the trade market and in free agency before the draft.

That's why CBS Sports writer Brad Botkin declared the Knicks as one of the winners of the draft last week.

"It's been a huge couple of days for the New York Knicks, who traded for Mikal Bridges on Tuesday and then re-signed OG Anunoby on Wednesday. They also did some clever work in the draft when they traded one of their first-round picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder for five second-round picks in addition to selecting Pacome Dadiet with the No. 25 pick," Botkin writes. "The Knicks then turned a couple of their second-round picks into Marquette points guard Tyler Kolek with the 34th pick after a trade with the Blazers."

On top of that, the team selected Kevin McCullar Jr. at No. 56 and Ariel Hukporti at No. 58, though the latter likely will stay overseas this season.

The Knicks made some shrewd moves that not only got them some young talent infused into the roster, but also saved them some money going into free agency this week. The Bridges trade and Anunoby extension have certainly complicated things when it comes to trying to re-sign Hartenstein, but the Knicks knew that it would be difficult to do all three.

New York opted to prioritize finding another star, and they did that by taking Bridges in. However, the sacrifice could end up being Hartenstein, who had a tremendous year for the Knicks.

The only way to keep Hartenstein is by finding a trade partner for Mitchell Robinson and/or Julius Randle. The team could also include Precious Achiuwa in a sign-and-trade, though that appears unlikely after the Knicks failed to extend a qualifying offer to him.

More work needs to be done, but the Knicks' draft efforts have given them the possibility to also keep Hartenstein.

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