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NBA Draft Lottery: What Receiving The Third Pick Means To A Knicks Fan

Mohammad Murtaza Agha

Did anyone happen to watch the NBA Draft Lottery last night? It’s not that big of a deal. It can only change your franchise overnight if your team gets the first pick and receives the honor of drafting Zion Williamson. But other that than that, I’m sure you weren’t even watching…

I’m a diehard Knicks fans so the future of my favorite team was on the line. I’ll fill you in as to what happened.

I’ve taken punches to the face, hits to the stomach, and I’ve even been choked out. (Don’t wrestle your friend in college who outweighs you by 75 pounds after a night out). However, none of those can even compare to the disappointment I felt after hearing Mark Tatum say, “The third pick goes to the New York Knicks.” I was traveling back to my apartment via train so I had to stream the lottery from my phone. Needless to say, I was crushed.

I hate to use the typical “you just don’t understand” argument, but unless you’re a Knicks fan, you just don’t understand how much heartbreak the Knicks fanbase has suffered over the past couple decades. It all starts at the top with the owner, James Dolan. From banning Charles Oakley, disrespecting Patrick Ewing, and making horrible basketball move after horrible basketball move, Dolan is public enemy number one for Knicks’ fans.

I was born in 1993 so I never truly experienced the glory days of the 90s Knicks with Patrick Ewing and John Starks. Even though the Knicks lost two NBA Finals in six seasons, at least the team was winning. However, that all changed after Isiah Thomas was hired as the Knicks President of Basketball Operations. As bad as Dolan was at managing a roster, he’s not even in the same stratosphere as Thomas. Where do I even begin? Here were some notable moves during the Isiah Thomas era.

There’s no need to explain any of the moves. They all didn’t pan out. Shocker!

After a few decent years with Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire under Donnie Walsh and Glen Grunwald, the Knicks then turned to the coach with the most NBA Championships of all-time, Phil Jackson, to run basketball operations. What was his first move as an executive for the Knicks? I’ll let Stephen A. Smith take this one.

The cycle of losing continued and Phil Jackson was fired in 2017. Let’s skip to this past season. For the first time in almost a decade, the Knicks FINALLY had a plan. The right coach was hired in David Fizdale. The roster was built to lose, which is exactly what this team needed to do in order to have a shot at a top pick. Even though the Porzingis trade was a mess, the Knicks freed up enough cap space to potentially sign two max contracts in the summer of 2019. Since the Knicks had the worst record in the NBA, they were guaranteed to have a top 5 pick in this year’s NBA draft. The prize? Zion Williamson.

Zion was the most hyped player in the draft since LeBron James and I wanted him more than anything in the world. All the pieces were in place. The Knicks were finally on the right path to doing something right. All that needed to happen involved a ping pong ball bouncing our way.

Guess what? The ball didn’t bounce our way.

I’m not dumb or naive. The third pick is still a GREAT pick to have. New York will either select Ja Morant or RJ Barrett, who are going to be very good players. The Knicks are the frontrunners to sign Kevin Durant and possibly Kyrie Irving. They could use that third pick to create a package consisting og picks and players to trade for Anthony Davis.

The future is most certainly bright for the Knicks. However, for one night, I just wanted things to go right.