Knicks acquire No. 2 pick in G League draft: Why does it matter?

The Westchester Knicks will make back-to-back picks on Saturday’s G League draft.

The New York Knicks keep making strategic moves under the radar while y’all sleeping.

On Friday, on top of celebrating the home opener with a dub inside MSG, the Knicks completed a minor-league trade to secure the first two picks of the G League draft scheduled for Saturday.

The Westchester Knicks were already in possession of the first- and third-overall picks but they moved up from the no. 3 spot to the no. 2 in a trade with the Cleveland Charge, the Cavs affiliate in the G.

Now, you might wonder why this is important. Let the folks in the known explain.

The Knicks had a certain guard that goes by the name of Landry Shamet rostered just a few days ago until he suffered a shoulder injury in the preseason and was ultimately waived ahead of the regular-season roster deadline.

New York has also shown very strong interest in signing hometown kid Matt Murray to make up for Shamet’s absence.

Well, turns out both players are eligible on Saturday’s G League draft for the 2024-25 campaign. And who has the no. 1 and no. 2 picks following Friday’s moves? That’s correct, your NYK by way of Westchester.

According to Marc Stein, the Knicks are interested the the aforementioned two players and will, indeed, draft them later today.

“The rising expectation in @nbagleagueircles is that Westchester will take Matt Ryan and Landry Shamet with the top two picks in Saturday’s draft … Shamet for the purpose of supervising his rehab. The Knicks have strong interest in signing both as the NBA season continues.

“Landry Shamet and Matt Ryan, players the Knicks are known to covet when they take their roster from 12 to 14, are both eligible for Saturday’s @nbagleague draft, sources say. Westchester owns the top two picks; drafting Shamet enables the Knicks to supervise his shoulder rehab.” — Marc Stein

Drafting Shamet to the G League Knicks roster would allow the franchise to keep the sharpshooter rehabbing within the organization and in the Knicks system, overseeing his rehabilitation closely to make a decision on whether or not to re-sign him once he’s fully fit.

Stein notes that the Knicks want to keep Shamet under their supervision, optimistic that he may avoid surgery and eventually be cleared for a return later in the season.

Selecting Shamet and Ryan in the G League Draft doesn’t lock them into the Knicks’ NBA roster, however, but it does provide New York with an edge over the rest of teams out there that might be interested in giving him a regular-season roster spot.

SNY’s Ian Begley doubled down on Stein’s report, confirming that the expectation around the G League is that New York will select Landry Shamet with one of their two picks.

“Several teams near the top of the G League Draft expect NYK to select Landry Shamet with one of their top picks in tomorrow’s draft, as earlier @TheSteinLine noted. This allows Shamet to rehab his shoulder dislocation with the organization. There was initial optimism that Shamet can avoid surgery. That optimism remains. Knicks can maintain roster flexibility to have a spot for Shamet if he makes a full return from the shoulder injury.” — Ian Begley

Additionally, recent cuts from the Knicks, such as T.J. Warren and Chuma Okeke, are expected to join Westchester—not via draft—which would deepen the team’s G League lineup.

With this minor-league draft strategy, the Knicks not only get to monitor two potential veteran contributors but also retain some flexibility under the salary cap.

In short, the Knicks are making a calculated bet on Shamet and Ryan, and by securing the top two G League Draft picks they will be able to control the future of those two dudes as well as avoid having to deal with possible franchise interested on these two—or simply trying to mess around with the Leon Rose’s plans to bring Larry OB home.

You can follow the 2024 NBA G League Draft live here from 1 PM/ET on Saturday, Oct. 26.