Knicks' Major Draft Blunder Looks Even Worse to Begin Free Agency

In just a few hours, the Knicks' center situation has turned bleak. It began with the news that Ariel Hukporti would be leaving for the 76ers. Then it was Mitchell Robinson breaking hearts by agreeing to join the Celtics.

That leaves Karl-Anthony Towns as the only big man on New York's roster and few appealing options left in free agency. It's a mess, and one the Knicks could've completely avoided in the draft.

Knicks' strange NBA draft is now haunting them after Mitchell Robinson, Ariel Hukporti exits

The overwhelming thought when the Knicks entered the late-June draft was that the team would target a young center. They had more than enough picks to do so, owning Nos. 24, 31 and 55 ahead of the event.

Yet Leon Rose decided to cook, but he may have burned New York in the process. While picking up four future seconds is nice, and marksman Tyler Nickel could help, it can't be ignored that Rose's several trades led to the team not coming away with a single center when it was all said and done.

Skilled big men like UConn's Tarris Reed Jr. (No. 26 pick) and Houston Chris Cenac Jr. (No. 27) were still available when the Knicks decided to trade out of the No. 24 and 25 selections. In the second round, Rose had plenty of opportunities to select centers like Felix Okpara (No. 46 pick), Izayiah Nelson (No. 51) or Henri Veesaar (No. 52).

When the Knicks finally did select a big in Virginia's Ugonna Onyeso at No. 53, they then traded him away minutes later for just cash considerations. That's not even to mention the fact the team's top pick was a guard in Jack Kayil at No. 39, and he's now being stashed overseas, so more instant center helped was passed on to land him instead.

While New York's maneuvering can be chalked up to second-apron avoidance, this doesn't hold up when looking at the second round. None of those deals after the first round are guaranteed, and anyone past the 40th overall pick is a two-way contract candidate, which doesn't count against the team's cap.

Even if the team had hopes it could retain Robinson or Hukporti, drafting some insurance was the easiest variable it could control. Any player selected didn't even have to infringe on either of the incumbent bigs, especially if they would spend a majority of their time in the G League.

Simply put, the Knicks punted on a golden opportunity to add center talent for no good basketball reason. There were affordable ways to still go about adding a big man, which wouldn't have gotten in the way of possibly keeping Robinson and/or Hukporti.

Now, not only does the team have two huge holes, but there aren't many alluring guys left to fill those needs. New York also lost a promising developmental project in Hukporti, so it's short on both immediate successors and a potential long-term one to develop, both of which could've been solved through the draft.

Surely Rose and his front office have considered this outcome as a possibility. But given the unexpected way free agency has gone to this point, they may not have the answers they were hoped were available, either.

At the every least, this sudden center debacle—which was completely avoidable and a true unforced error—does raise some questions about how Rose is operating this offseason to still field a championship-worthy team.

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