Knicks need to win NBA Draft Lottery

The New York Knicks are a horrible, terrible, no-good mess. They have been one for the better part of 15 years, making everybody in the wonderful metropolis of New York City run screaming from 34th Street in downtown Manhattan whenever the marquee flashes a name in orange and blue.

On Tuesday night, the Knicks finally have a chance to reverse their fortunes. In Seacaucus, NJ, less than an hour from the venerable Madison Square Garden, ping pong balls will be drawn from a plastic cauldron. NBA commissioner Adam Silver will start opening envelopes, letting us know the fates of 14 different teams. None matter more to the league than New York.

Arguably, you could say that the Los Angeles Lakers are more important, but they will be relevant in short order. The Lakers still have Kobe Bryant and a hoard of free-agent spending money. Getting a major star into Hollywood and the weather that comes with it won’t be all that difficult.

For the Knicks, it is a minor miracle they even have their draft pick. New York has been trading away picks like they are going out of style since the Isiah Thomas era, allowing multiple opportunities to slip through their fingers. However, even when the Knicks do have their selections, they take role players like Channing Frye or complete busts like Michael Sweetney, failing to land a superstar. The last time New York got a big-time guy in the lottery would be point guard Mark Jackson out of St. John’s. In case you were wondering, Jackson was drafted in 1987.

It has been 30 years since the Knicks had the first-overall selection, nabbing Hall-of-Fame center Patrick Ewing. The year was 1985, and it was the first time the NBA had a draft lottery. Since then, New York has been without the marquee spots that it desperately needed so many times.

Listed below are the percentages of the teams for getting the first-overall pick on Tuesday, per USA Today:

1. Minnesota Timberwolves (16-66): 25%

2. New York Knicks (17-65): 19.9%

3. Philadelphia 76ers (18-64): 15.6%

4. Los Angeles Lakers* (21-61): 11.9%

5. Orlando Magic (25-57): 8.8%

6. Sacramento Kings (29-53): 6.3%

7. Denver Nuggets (30-52): 4.3%

8. Detroit Pistons (32-50): 2.8%

9. Charlotte Hornets (33-49): 1.7%

10. Miami Heat** (37-45): 1.1%

11. Indiana Pacers (38-44): .8%

12. Utah Jazz (38-44): .7%

13. Phoenix Suns (39-43): .6%

14. Oklahoma City Thunder: .5%

New York is guaranteed a top-five pick at the worst, but it needs to do better than that. The Knicks have to land an immediate impact player, whether it be Karl-Anthony Towns of Kentucky or Duke’s Jahlil Okafor. Maybe New York’s general manager Phil Jackson surprises everyone and takes D’Angelo Russell, the stellar point guard from Ohio State.

No matter what the Knicks do, they can’t afford to miss the boat…again. New York has been a disgraceful franchise for quite some time, something the great fans of MSG don’t deserve.

Perhaps the turnaround can start with a little bit of luck in Seacaucus.