Warriors reject Knicks trade offer (Report)

According to a report, the Golden State Warriors recently turned down a trade offer from the New York Knicks.

The New York Knicks have two first-round picks in their back pocket for the 2021 NBA Draft. Packaging those two picks to move up has always seemed like a possible scenario on draft night. According to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, the Knicks have already been denied by one lottery team.

“A source says the Knicks have made calls to late-lottery teams about trading up. I’m told the Warriors turned down Nos. 19 and 21 for No. 14. The Knicks don’t have strong enough draft assets to get into the top 10, and now it seems like a long shot they can get into the late lottery.”

In effect, the Knicks are going to have to give up more than just the 19th and 21st picks to jump into the lottery. The price might be too high for Leon Rose and the front office to move up in this draft. However, it all depends on who they are targeting and how the draft unfolds.

Rose and the front office have made all the right moves up to this point. Overpaying to move up a few spots seems unlikely given this front office’s track record. Making someone else overpay to move up to 19 or 21 could be in the cards, though. Either way, expect the Knicks to be active on draft night.

With all that said, This draft class is brimming with talent and the Knicks could land a steal at 19 or 21 (or possibly even 32). So far, most mock drafts have the Knicks picking at 19 and 21, but it’s difficult to predict trades on mock drafts. In other words, don’t read too much into that.

Expect the unexpected.