NBA Draft Rumors: Knicks Now Looking At A Point Guard Over R.J. Barrett With Third Overall Pick
The 2019 NBA Draft is less than 36 hours away and there honestly is much more going on than the trade for Anthony Davis. The New York Knicks are already on the clock with the third overall pick which has long been assumed to belong to Duke’s R.J. Barrett. Of course, this is the NBA and these are the Knicks which means that anything can happen and rumors are now swirling that they may be heading in another direction.
For weeks and months, many have expected Barrett to go anywhere in the top five picks of this year’s draft. Zion Williamson is the likely number one to the New Orleans Pelicans and Ja Morant is probably heading to the Grizzlies with the second overall selection.
Ever since the Knicks were revealed as the holders of the third overall pick, they have been attached to Barrett in virtually every single mock draft and expert analysis. It just seems like a true given that it will happen, but then, a wild card was thrown into the mix on Wednesday morning and everything changed.
An 11 a.m. media session was scheduled for NBA teams and college prospects on Wednesday morning, but something came up for the New York Knicks. As reported by Jonathan Givony of ESPN, they were holding an under-the-gun workout with Vanderbilt point guard Darius Garland.
Darius Garland will conduct a last-minute workout in Tarrytown with the New York Knicks tomorrow, a source told ESPN. Garland is in serious consideration for the No. 3 pick. Minnesota, Boston, Chicago are teams looking at potentially trading up to No. 4 with Garland in mind.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 18, 2019
Garland, the self-proclaimed “best point guard” in this year’s draft, has been expected to go anywhere from picks five through seven. A number of teams have shown interest in him, but that has been built up even more by his own words and the possibility that he could now jump into the top five and not out of it.
At this point, it’s rather impossible to think that the Knicks are still sold on Barrett since they took time, the day before the draft, to work out Garland.
Report: Knicks hosting Darius Garland for workout, considering selecting him with No. 3 pick. https://t.co/Iutq8y72bo pic.twitter.com/G5JNLWATv0
— theScore (@theScore) June 18, 2019
If the Knicks do choose to take the Vanderbilt guard with the third overall pick, the mystery falls to the New Orleans Pelicans. Due to the trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers, they now possess the number one and number four overall selections in Thursday night’s draft.
There truly is no mystery that Zion Williamson is going to be selected number one overall. From there, though, the Pelicans have a choice to make with that number four selection. They could trade it for more picks or a veteran star, or they could choose to take the best available player on the board.
If the New York Knicks end up selecting Darius Garland third, it is pretty much a given that the Pelicans will reunite Duke teammates Williamson and R.J. Barrett in the NBA.
