New York Knicks: 2018 NBA Draft grades

We hand out some grades for the New York Knicks’ selections of Kevin Knox and Mitchell Robinson in the 2018 NBA Draft.

The New York Knicks headed into the 2018 NBA Draft with an open mind. They worked out a ton of players leading up to the draft, as they owned the No. 9 and No. 36 overall picks in the draft.

To the surprise of no one, the Knicks fans in attendance at the Barclays Center booed when Adam Silver announced the No. 9 pick.

With the No. 9 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Knicks selected Kentucky forward, Kevin Knox.

The kid who famously cried when Kristaps Porzingis was selected with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft was back at it. Once again, he was not happy when Knox was selected. This time, he had his (presumable) father booing along with him.

This pretty much guarantees that Knox will develop into a star player, right? Despite what fans feel about the pick now, their feelings will change once they see Knox on the court.

In the second round, with the 36th overall pick, the Knicks selected center Mitchell Robinson. Robinson is most known for skipping college this season. Surprisingly, he seemed to receive more cheers from Knicks fans in the crowd than Knox did.

Robinson is probably most known for passing on the chance to play in college. He was committed to playing at Western Kentucky, but decided to skip college and focus on preparing for the NBA Draft.

These are two strong picks by the Knicks. Both fill immediate and long-term needs. These are also high-upside players; they were ranked as No. 10 and No. 11 in last year’s freshman class.

The Knicks did very well in the first draft with the new brain trust of head coach David Fizdale, general manager Scott Perry and president of basketball operations Steve Mills. Let’s take a deeper look at the Knicks’ selections and hand out some grades.