Knicks Named NBA Draft Winner
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.
JEREMY BRENER
Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.