Draft Buzz: Knicks Exploring Trade Into Top-5?

The Knicks have explored the idea of trading up in the NBA Draft and it’s possible that Jaden Ivey is their target.

Teams are only allowed to interview 20 prospects at the combine and the Knicks used one of them on Ivey, Marc Berman of The New York Post reports.

Berman does caution that the Knicks have typically performed due diligence on players outside their draft range but the meeting suggests that the Knicks at least have pondered the idea of moving up from No. 11.

Ivey, who went No. 4 in our latest mock draft, is expected to be selected in the top-5. Sacramento owns the No. 4 selection after moving up in the lottery and there are rumblings that the franchise would be willing to move the pick in exchange for veterans who could help the team return to the postseason.

New York has a slew of veterans on mid-sized contracts, such as Evan Fournier, Alec Burks, and Derrick Rose. Would packaging one of the three along with Immanuel Quickley and the No. 11 be enough for Sacramento to move down?

The Pistons own the No. 5 pick, though there hasn’t been much buzz about Detroit’s willingness to deal the selection.

More From New York

• Bradley Beal remains likely to re-sign with Washington this summer, though there were rumblings earlier in the season that the Knicks were pursuing the All-Star guard. We examined what it would take for New York to trade for Beal should the two sides work out a sign-and-trade.
  
• Should New York go all out to sign Jalen Brunson? Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post believes so. The Villanova product is scheduled to hit free agency and he’s hinted that he’d like to return to the Mavericks. Still, Vaccaro believes that Brunson (whose father, Rick Brunson, was Leon Rose’s first-ever client) can provide the Knicks with much-needed stability at the point guard position.
  
• 7-foot-3 big man Kai Sotto worked out for the Knicks earlier this week. In addition to the No. 11 pick, New York owns the No. 42 selection in the upcoming draft.