NBA Draft: Knicks Should Trade Pick For Lawson Or Bledsoe

With the NBA Finals completed, the attention of basketball fans turns to the 2015 NBA Draft next week, especially for New York Knicks fans.

With the fourth pick in the draft, there are a plethora of options available to Phil Jackson and his staff. There have been rumors aplenty since the lottery that they will be looking to trade the pick come draft night, despite supposedly being enamored with a number of players in this year’s draft class. For me, there are only two players the Knicks should be looking to trade for using their pick: Ty Lawson and Eric Bledsoe.

The Denver Nuggets are well-known to be willing to trade one of Lawson or Kenneth Faried, while the Phoenix Suns — according to an online chat with ESPN’s Chad Ford — might prefer Brandon Knight and may be willing to trade Bledsoe.

The Knicks are in need of players in almost all positions, but an elite point guard has to be their main focus. The current era of NBA basketball is dominated by elite point guards who run their teams and the Knicks have lacked one for some time.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not of the opinion that either of these two guards are at that elite level just yet, but they are two players who are approaching it and have many years ahead of them in the league. Lawson in particular had probably the most underrated year of any point guard in the league last year, quietly averaging 15.2 points and 9.6 assists per game, whereas Bledsoe put up 17.0 points and 6.1 assists per game.

Carmelo Anthony needs an elite point guard to help him flourish, not just someone who has the ability to share the ball, but someone who can create their own shots, which both of these two can do. An argument against these two is that they aren’t great three-point shooters — Lawson shot 34 percent from downtown last season and Bledsoe 32 percent — but the Knicks have enough shooting around already with Carmelo Anthony, Tim Hardaway Jr and Jose Calderon.

The biggest positive for trading for either of these two is that the Knicks could still add a player they admire from the draft class to go into the roster. If they trade for Lawson and the seventh pick, the likelihood is that players like Trey Lyles will still be around, but there are also chances Justise Winslow or Kristaps Porzingis could be available. If they trade down to 13 for Bledsoe, their options do become more limited but Lyles may still be available along with Frank Kaminsky.

The addition of Bledsoe or Lawson, along with a lottery pick, would make the Knicks instantly better, before free agency has even begun. If neither of these trades are available on draft night or can’t be worked out, then the best option for the Knicks would be to use the pick as far as I’m concerned. They may miss out on a Jahlil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns, but there is going to likely be one of D’Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay.

If the Knicks want to improve next season, an elite point guard is going to have to be the main priority and these two can be that player that they need.

Next: 5 Potential Trade Destinations For David Lee

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