The New York Knicks had an incredibly busy 2024 NBA Draft. They came into the first round with the No. 24 and No. 25 overall picks but ended up making multiple trades which left them with only the No. 25 pick. The wheeling and dealing for the Knicks continued in the second round of the NBA Draft when they acquired the rights to Tyler Kolek from the Portland Trail Blazers as per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The Knicks originally selected Keyshawn George from Miami with the No. 24 pick and traded his rights to the Washington Wizards in a trade that included the No. 26 pick. With the No. 26 pick, the Knicks selected Dillon Jones from Weber State and ultimately traded his rights to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The only first round pick the Knicks hung onto was No. 25 which they used to select Pacome Dadiet from France. In the second round of the NBA Draft, the Knicks moved up to No. 34 to select Tyler Kolek in a trade with the Blazers that saw the Knicks give up three future second round picks.
Tyler Kolek was one of the best point guards in college basketball last season at Marquette. He appeared in 31 games at a little over 33 minutes per game. He averaged a career-best 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.6 steals with splits of 49.6 percent shooting from the field, 38.8 percent shooting from the three-point line and 85.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Kolek will likely spend a lot of the 2024-25 season in the G League playing for the Westchester Knicks. But he was a first round talent. The Knicks potentially have their point guard of the future, a capable backup at the very least.
Knicks going all-in with busy 2024 offseason
The Knicks offseason began even before the NBA Draft. They pulled off one of the first major trades of the offseason when they acquired Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and multiple first round picks.
The Knicks followed that up by coming to terms with OG Anunoby in NBA free agency on a five-year deal worth $212.5 million. Anunoby had opted out of his contract but ultimately agreed to return to the Knicks. Under the league's new CBA, teams were permitted to negotiate with their own free agents ahead of the NBA free agency period.
While the asking price for Bridges and the contract for Anunoby may seem pretty steep, it signals the Knicks desire to go all-in for the 2024-25 season. They have firm aspirations of being a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference.
Last season, the Knicks finished with the second best record in the East behind only the Boston Celtics. They defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in six games in the first round before falling to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Knicks likely aren't finished with the offseason as their recent moves crowd the current roster a bit. They also have the pending free agency of Isaiah Hartenstein who is one of the best big men on the market.
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