Donnie Walsh may not be able to pull enough strings to get Stephen Curry when the draft begins on Thursday night, but that doesn't mean he isn't working hard to make the Knicks a younger team. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the Knicks have agreed to a deal with the Lakers that will net them the 29th overall selection.
They'll be giving up $3 million to acquire the pick, though the Lakers will probably make the pick on Thursday because of NBA rules governing the sale of draft picks. According to Wojnarowski, they plan to target a big man to go with the backcourt help they select with the eighth pick. Of course, with no one able to make a confident prediction of how the second through seventh picks will go down that could be flopped or moot by the time the Knicks are actually picking.
Regardless of which players the Knicks take home from the Garden on Thursday, getting younger players at a fixed price makes a lot of sense. Whatever plays out with David Lee and Nate Robinson, the Knicks are going to need bodies in 2009 and beyond, and it makes sense to have those bodies be younger and cheaper than the roster they trotted out last season.
Speaking of Lee, there's a rumor making the rounds that links him with Oklahoma City via a sign-and-trade that would bring Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio to the Knicks. Andy Katz of ESPN.com is reporting that the Thunder aren't going to trade the third pick, but that may be in reference to their plans before the draft. There's also the chance that Walsh will use the 29th pick as part of another deal, and the possibility that none of the above will come to fruition.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.
