Pelicans Rumors: Are Knicks gathering lotto picks for Anthony Davis deal?

The Knicks might be looking to acquire picks #8 and #10 from Atlanta. Could they be stockpiling assets to pry Anthony Davis away from the New Orleans Pelicans? The Pelicans rumors continue…

More likely the not, there’s going to be some new wrinkle in the Anthony Davis/New Orleans Pelicans rumors universe almost daily if you know where to look. Yesterday, news broke that the New York Knicks are considering trading their #3 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft in order to try to acquire the #8 and #10 picks from the Atlanta Hawks. This is relevant to New Orleans, because the Knicks are widely assumed to be a possible trade suitor in the AD Sweepstakes.

When you look at this rumor, there seem to be two big reasons for this potential desire to trade away the #3 pick if you’re the Knicks. The first option is a discouraging one for New Orleans Pelicans fans:

Option 1: The Knicks won’t pursue Anthony Davis as strongly as expected

This would be a bummer, especially with rumors also coming out recently that the Celtics might not be as interested in selling the farm for Davis as we all once thought either. In this scenario for the Knicks, it would mean they’re feeling pretty confident they can add a star player via free agency instead of trading away tons of assets for AD.

If New York is convinced they can lure a guy like Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, or Jimmy Butler to the team this summer, it’s possible that they see more value in securing picks #8 and #10 to add as much young depth and potential around their incoming star(s) as possible. RJ Barrett is a great prospect that will likely go third in the NBA Draft, sure. But there’s definitely an argument that there’s more value in owning two Top 10 lottery picks instead of just #3.

Option 2: The Pelicans told the Knicks they want multiple lotto picks

This hypothetical is more intriguing for any Pelicans fans out there. Let’s speculate for a minute. David Griffin and/or Trajan Langdon have more than likely already had several phone calls with teams around the league regarding AD. In this scenario, it’s possible the Pelicans have informed the Knicks that they simply want as many high draft picks as possible in any Anthony Davis-centered transaction.

Because of this, the Knicks would immediately reach out to whatever team could help facilitate these demands. With the Atlanta Hawks owning the #8 and #10 picks, they’re the obvious choice for the Knicks to hit up first.

It would be awesome for the New Orleans Pelicans to reunite Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, sure. But feel-good story aside, two is sometimes better than one, and picks #8 and #10 could absolutely have more long-term value than #3 alone. It would be a gamble to turn down a Top 3 pick for two lower ones, but there are plenty of draft prospects in this range that could be fantastic difference makers in New Orleans.

Of course, there is a third choice here, and that’s that the Knicks are simply looking into all of their available options with the #3 pick this summer. They might not really want to trade back, but they figure they might as well see what they could accomplish with this valuable asset. Whatever they do, it will directly affect Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans one way or another, so keep an eye on this situation. As always, we’ll keep you updated on all related Pelicans rumors along the way.