NBA Draft Sees Key Trades and Picks in Brooklyn

The NBA draft continued on Wednesday night in Brooklyn, where all eyes were on the New York Knicks as they held the 31st pick. Despite their initial choice, Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton, they had prearranged a trade of this pick to the Houston Rockets. Mark Tatum, NBA deputy commissioner, announced Thornton’s selection, and Thornton donned a Knicks hat. By the time he reached the interview stage, however, he sported a Rockets hat. “Somebody said I got the wrong hat,” Thornton remarked. “Then I heard it’s the Houston Rockets. I’m like, no state tax, so that’s even better.”

The draft’s first round kicked off with Washington selecting AJ Dybantsa and concluded late Tuesday. As the rounds progressed, team strategies involved numerous trades. The Knicks, originally holding the 24th pick, eventually exited the first round completely. This practice, involving considerable trade activity, was one reason the NBA opted to split the draft into two nights. This change allows teams more evaluation time. However, this altered scheduling proved challenging for some players, like’s Duke’s Isaiah Evans. Evans, present in the green room on Tuesday, went unselected, but was later picked at 33 by Minnesota following a trade with Brooklyn.

Unlike the current format, the NBA draft once had a different structure. Willis Reed, a Hall of Famer, was the eighth pick in 1964, which then marked the beginning of the second round. Reed went on to lead the Knicks to NBA championships in 1970 and 1973, securing MVP titles in both finals. Similarly, Jalen Brunson, picked 33rd in 2018’s second round by the Dallas Mavericks, joined the Knicks as a free agent in 2022. His presence proved pivotal, with the Knicks’ recent triumph over the San Antonio Spurs, earning Brunson the series MVP title.

German guard Jack Kayil, drafted by the Knicks at the 39th pick, looked to Brunson for inspiration. “We play in a similar position,” Kayil noted. “So I think I can learn a lot from how he got started in the NBA.” Additionally, the Knicks secured the rights to Tyler Nickel from Vanderbilt at the 47th pick.

Among other notable second-round selections: Richie Saunders from BYU’s team alongside AJ Dybantsa went to Memphis at pick 32; Purdue’s Braden Smith, an assists leader, went to Indiana at 38; Kentucky’s Otega Oweh to Oklahoma City at 41; and Emanuel Sharp from Houston joined Sacramento at 45.

AP NBA