NBA teams with the most to gain and lose in the 2018 Draft

8. New York Knicks (24-40)

2018 Picks

• First Round — projected No. 6 – 9 overall
• Second Round (from Chicago via OKC) — projected 36th-40th overall
• Second Round (from LAC, Sixers get more favorable) — projected 42nd-45th overall

The Knicks need to make the most of the upcoming draft.

More importantly, they need to make sure that this class of rookies and the next several that follow in New York are playing alongside Kristaps Porzingis.

Porzingis does not become a free agent until 2019 but the Knicks are optimistic about re-signing him to a long-term extension before then. That would solidify Porzingis, rookie point guard, Frank Ntilikina, and Tim Hardaway Jr. as the team’s core for the better part of the next half decade and beyond.

Hardaway and Ntilikina are both already locked up for the next four seasons. Hardaway is having his best pro season, scoring 17 points per game. Ntilikina, has shown flashes of why the team drafted him in the lottery but has played a limited role as a 19-year-old rookie. He and Porzingis are extremely close on and off the court and his long-term future in New York will likely have a lot to do with Kristaps choosing to remain the Knicks’ future.

In addition to Ntilikina and Hardaway, the Knicks have a handful of other young players who could factor largely into the team’s future, depending on how the next two offseasons go.

After Porzingis, the Knicks second biggest long-term decision will likely be the team’s other versatile power forward/center, Enes Kanter. Kanter and Kristaps have proven not just that they can co-exist but they’ve thrived playing together. Kanter’s 14 points, 11 rebounds, and defensive presence would be hard to reproduce but at 25, Kanter is just entering his prime and is more than young enough to be a key building block for the next five years.

He has a player option at $18.6 million for next season so the ball will be in his court for the immediate future. If he stays, the Knicks’ front office will have a big decision to make that will likely impact the outlooks for Emmanuel Mudiay, Trey Burke, and Ron Baker as well.

The Knicks, to a much lesser extent than Brooklyn, are also at the mercy of veteran contracts.

At the moment, Joakim Noah and his $55 million guaranteed through 2020 is the largest salary on the team’s payroll. He hasn’t been with the team for over a month and there have been reports of trade and buyout discussions between the two sides. So far no agreement has been reached though and it appears that the stalemate could drag long into the summer.

Lance Thomas and Courtney Lee are both signed through 2020 as well. Thomas, at 29, has not panned out to become the factor the Knicks hoped he would be. Lee, on the other hand, has led the team in minutes, averaged in double-figures, and shot over 90 percent from the free throw line the last two seasons. Even at 32, Lee’s energy, durability, playmaking ability, and veteran presence will likely allow him to remain an an important part of the team’s young roster  through his the duration of his contract.

The only two players on the Knicks’ roster not under contract after this season are Michael Beasley and Jarrett Jack. Both are playing on relatively cheap, team-friendly deals but their futures are both uncertain with so many other factors for the Knicks to think about.

A solid contributor or two, or better, from the 2018 draft would definitely help the Knicks. Either way though, if the team can lock up Porzingis and work something out with Noah, they’ll have the advantage of the best player among all teams involved in the lottery plus cap space, and a city that will always be an attractive home for potential free agents.