A couple notes on the Knicks and around the league as we get closer to the NBA draft:
The draft is almost here. Teams have seven days to prepare for the big night.
The Knicks will have three selections in the top 38 of the 2024 NBA Draft. Earlier in the offseason, we reported that the Knicks were operating as if they would use at least one of their picks on a player in the draft. I haven’t heard anything to date that suggests otherwise.
The Knicks will continue to connect with eligible players as the draft approaches.
We know they’ve worked out Virginia’s Ryan Dunn. They also recently had Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman in for a group workout, per sources. Here is a partial list of the players who have worked out for New York. The Knicks are not publicly announcing their pre-draft workouts this year.
Dunn is considered one of the draft’s top defenders; perimeter shooting is seen as a weakness for Dunn. Scheierman is a strong shooter.
LAKERS
The Lakers need to decide on a head coach for next season. But regardless of who is coaching Los Angeles next season, the Lakers are monitoring their offseason options at center closely, per people with knowledge of the situation.
The Lakers have visited with some top centers in the draft. They have the No. 17 pick in the first round. The club could also obviously pursue a center in free agency. Adding a traditional big man would, in theory, allow Anthony Davis more opportunity to play power forward alongside a center.
PISTONS
Detroit could have roughly $60 million in cap space this offseason. They are one of a handful of teams with meaningful money to spend in free agency. You will surely see them linked to plenty of 2024 free agents. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Detroit didn’t use all of its cap space to sign players. The Pistons have conveyed that they’re open to absorbing contracts from teams looking to shed salary. With more punitive team salary rules looming in 2024-25, I think the Pistons will have several opportunities to absorb a player’s salary in exchange for draft/player compensation.
MAGIC
Orlando is among the teams with a high opinion of Pittsburgh’s Carlton Carrington. Carrington worked out for Orlando on Wednesday and is viewed by multiple teams as a player who has improved his stock in the pre-draft process. The Magic are another team with significant cap space this offseason. They continue to convey a desire to add shooting in the offseason, whether it’s via the draft or free agency.
As noted during the season, Orlando expressed some interest in trading for Golden State’s Klay Thompson prior to the 2024 trade deadline. Thompson is a free agent. So it’s only logical for Orlando to be among the teams with interest in signing Thompson in free agency.