Is it possible that mercurial New York Knicks owner James Dolan is the superstitious type?
Dolan — who is arguably one of the most polarizing owners in all of professional sports — will send Patrick Ewing, the no. 1 overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft and a Knicks legend, to represent New York at the NBA Draft Lottery.
According to Marc Berman of The New York Post, Dolan called Knicks president Steve Mills to suggest to him that Ewing could be New York's representative.
“Actually Jim Dolan called me up and asked, ‘Who’s attending the lottery?'” Mills told The Post. “I said Scott [Perry] and I haven’t talked about it that much. He said, ‘I’m just making a suggestion. You can say no if you want to. But what about Patrick?’
The Knicks finished with the worst record in the league at 17-65. However, with the new lottery format, they will share the same odds at landing the no. 1 overall pick with both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns, who had the next-worst records in the NBA at 19-63 apiece. Each team will have a 14 percent chance at acquiring the rights to the top spot.
Of course, landing the no. 1 pick in 1985 led the Knicks to Ewing, who quickly turned a dormant franchise into a perennial playoff contender.
James Dolan is hoping that Patrick Ewing's presence will lead to New York winning the lottery, thereby potentially drafting the next Knicks “savior” in Zion Williamson.
The Knicks will have two max salary cap slots in free agency this summer, and drafting Zion could be the crucial ingredient in attracting big-name superstars to the Big Apple.
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