With a league-worst 14-62 record, the New York Knicks are in the driver's seat to be guaranteed a 25% chance at the #1 overall pick in June's draft, the highest percentage possible under the current NBA lottery format. While perhaps a delusional Knicks fan might be hoping for the team to "finish strong" and win four of their remaining seven games, we all know it is in the best interest of the Knicks to go 0-7 and solidify their position as the team with the highest odds to get the #1 overall pick.
While the league's lottery system often gets criticized for rewarding teams who "tank", I actually think it's way better than the NFL's current system which rewards the team with the worst record by giving them the #1 overall pick. Even with the NBA's lottery system, it is still in the best interest of the Knicks to lose out, and so I think they need to do literally everything in their power to lose their remaining games.
While there are many things the Knicks can do to "tank" down the stretch, the most blatant option on the table is to call up players from the Westchester Knicks, their D-League team, to finish the season. While this option may seem like a slap in the face to the league office, there are several reasons why the Knicks should do this.
The number one reason they should do this is that doing so almost guarantees that they lose their remaining games. No D-League team can beat an NBA team. We all know this. So, if the Knicks trot out the Westchester Knicks to play at Madison Square Garden, there is no way things can go wrong. And by "go wrong", just so we're clear, I mean "win a game". In addition, the Westchester Knicks were a horrible D-League team, finishing with a 10-40 record, which just further cements this as a no-brainer option.
Secondly, the Westchester Knicks have some players who the New York Knicks may want to consider for their training camp roster next season. The most obvious player is Thanasis Antetokounmpo, whose brother is Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks. Thanasis was drafted in the late second round and has shown some promise. What better time to see if he can hang with NBA players than right now, when winning is no longer a concern?
Another player on the Westchester roster who is interesting is 7'2 center Jordan Bachynski from Arizona State. I saw him play against Cal during his senior season and he showed some promise. There aren't a lot of 7'2 guys in the league and the Knicks could certainly use some size up front. Why not give him a shot in some NBA games, too?
The third reason why the Knicks should do this is it would send a message to the rest of the players on their roster. Some of their players need to understand that the line between them and D-League players is very blurred. I think it would motivate them going into next season to see guys from their farm team get their minutes to finish the season.
All in all, playing the Westchester Knicks to finish the season makes sense on all levels. It would give the Knicks a guaranteed 25% chance at the #1 pick, a chance to see who might make their team next season, and it would motivate their players. I don't see any drawbacks to doing this and I think it would be foolish of the team to do anything that might jeopardize their current position in the standings.
---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord
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