Report: Knicks moving up four spots to No. 23 pick after trade with Jazz

The New York Knicks haven’t wasted any time making a trade on draft day. The Knicks acquired the No. 23 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft from the Utah Jazz in exchange for the Nos. 27 and 38 picks on Wednesday night, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported early this morning. The Knicks now have the Nos. 8 and 23 picks in the draft.

So the Knicks will give up their second-round pick to get better positioning in the first round of the draft. New York hasn’t really been linked to many names, plus the more polarizing pick is the one in the top 10. This could be a play by New York to get a better looking asset to trade up to a spot before 8th overall. Many teams are sort of jockeying for position in the first round and looking to move up in the lottery.

Woj is now reporting that the move by the Knicks is indeed a play to acquire more assets to try and move up past the No. 8 pick. The Knicks are trying to add another high-end lottery pick on a cheap rookie deal to pair with RJ Barrett and potentially some free agents in the offseason of 2021. New York could surround Barrett, the pick this year and Mitchell Robinson with a few max free agents to try and revive the franchise.