Another year, another night of 60 incredibly talented basketball players watching their dreams manifest on stage.

The Knicks were an active participant in this year’s NBA Draft, making a number of smaller moves in preparation of their larger plans this offseason and beyond.

Here are the grades for every trade and pick New York made...

Pick 19 - Traded to Charlotte for protected future first: C

With no clear trade-up options available, it seems Leon Rose went the opposite direction instead, trading out of the first round to have a little more cap flexibility. This makes sense, with a first-round pick’s contract fully guaranteed but not a second-rounder’s. However, this trade falls short of netting the Knicks fair value.

The protections on the Hornets pick essentially make it so it won’t be of use until they make the Playoffs, in which case the first will likely fall in the range the Knicks were originally working with. If the Hornets stay in the lottery the Knicks end up with two second-round picks.

Again, this trade served to push New York’s asset pile and financial commitments further ahead -- a reasonable move. Not doing more with the 19th pick is a bit underwhelming, especially if you’re essentially just hoping you get a similar pick back at some point in the next five years. This trade was originally a D+ for that reason.

However, that’s not entirely fair. There clearly weren’t any enticing prospects or great trades open to the Knicks at their spot, despite their best efforts. Later moves provided much more optimism, but this one in a vacuum is a hard “meh.”

Pick 21 - Traded to the Clippers for 25 and a future second, take Quentin Grimes: B+

The Knicks obviously felt they could get their man four slots down, and were happy to take on a future second-round pick to prove it. Thus this grade falls in the hands of one man: Quentin Grimes.

Who is Grimes? A 6’5”, 205-pound wing with a 6’8” wingspan, knockdown shooter and annoying defender. He’s your Reggie Bullock and Alec Burks insurance and upside 3-and-D prospect. His stroke is pure, off the dribble or on the catch-and-shoot. His length and activity defensively make him a pest on that end, sure to please Tom Thibodeau.

Popular in the Community