How the Nova Knicks went all in, stole the NBA Draft’s spotlight

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If you even played intramural basketball at Villanova, you have to contact the Knicks’ front office at this point.

Villanova Knicks

New York makes blockbuster move for Bridges

Mikal Bridges hasn’t missed a basketball game since high school … not at Villanova or in six seasons of NBA basketball. He even played 83 games in 2022-23 because of a trade to the Nets and overlapping schedules.

The Knicks and Nets agreed to a trade yesterday, sending Bridges (27 years old) to the bigger team in New York. That means the player who has twice led the league in total minutes played will now be in Tom Thibodeau’s rotation. The unstoppable force is about to check ball against the immovable object. Oh, and don’t forget Bridges played with and won a national title alongside Jalen Brunson (27), Josh Hart (29) and Donte DiVincenzo (27) at Villanova.

The Nets receive four unprotected first-round picks from the Knicks, a top-four protected pick in 2025 from Milwaukee and a second-round pick next year. They also made some swaps with Houston, getting their own picks back from the James Harden trade years ago in exchange for some Suns picks the Nets got in the KD trade. John Hollinger explains why Brooklyn’s new bevy of picks matter.

This means the Knicks will have Bridges and OG Anunoby to defend on the perimeter, if they re-sign Anunoby this summer. That’s so much wing defense with the ability to score on the other end. The Knicks, if healthy, can challenge Boston for the top of the East now. As you can see from Josh Hart, these guys are excited about it.

Read: Everybody gets high marks in the trade grades.

The Latest From Shams

One-on-one with Matas Buzelis

Yesterday, in this space, we featured my sitdown with Kentucky draft prospect Rob Dillingham. With the draft kicking off tonight, we’ll continue that theme with my one-on-one with G League Ignite prospect Matas Buzelis.

The 6-foot-9 forward is ranked No. 7 on John Hollinger’s list of top prospects. Among many topics, Buzelis and I discussed player comps, “disrespect” of the G League Ignite shutdown and his desire to be a “two-way guy” in the NBA. You can follow along with all of The Athletic’s draft coverage right here.

In New Orleans, the Pelicans are promoting team executive Swin Cash to senior vice president of basketball operations, league sources tell me. The move makes Cash, a three-time WNBA champion and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, one of the highest-ranking women in an NBA front office. The Pels also announced Monday that Bryson Graham has been promoted to general manager, replacing Trajan Langdon.

Potential top-5 NBA pick Matas Buzelis sits down with @Stadium: “I respect Zach (Risacher) as a player…He just doesn’t want to see me. I’m just going to keep it real with everybody.”

On “disrespect” of Ignite shutdown; Franz Wagner, PG, Andrei Kirilenko, Jaden McDaniels; more: pic.twitter.com/nZpLsoCkVp

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 25, 2024

Lottery History

Will the Wizards and Hawks nail this draft?

We’re down to the final four teams in our lottery history revisit ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft. It starts tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, with the Hawks on the clock at No. 1. We’ll look at Atlanta, Washington, San Antonio and Houston in today’s lottery breakdown of the last 20 years.

Here’s how the lottery success breakdown goes: We’ll see how this year’s lottery teams have fared with lottery picks since 2004 (when the league started trending away from 78-74 final scores). I attempted to weigh these categories: a player’s total appearances (400 games is the baseline), All-Star appearances, second and third contracts (preferably with the drafting team), accolades and significant stats with their original team.

Here’s a reminder of the possible rulings on each pick based on the above criteria:

Superbust: 0/5 – It was a mind-boggling decision.
Bust: 1/5 – The selection didn’t work out.
Reach: 2/5 – The prospect probably wouldn’t get you fired.
Good pick: 3/5 – It was a highly defensible decision.
Star: 4/5 – You’re getting a raise.
Superstar: 5/5 – Wait … you’re a damn genius!

San Antonio Spurs – No. 4 and No. 8 picks

The Spurs have four lottery picks in the last 20 years, and they’ve all happened since 2020. (Houston also has only a few in that span as well, which is why neither team has a chart). Outside of Josh Primo (2021), they Spurs have done a good job with the picks — and ended up with arguably the best prospect ever last year. With two picks in the top 10, it’ll be interesting to see if they try to move up to No. 2.

Houston Rockets – No. 3 pick

The Rockets have only had a handful of lottery picks over the last 20 years, and three of those picks happened in the last three years. General manager Rafael Stone seems to possess a real eye for talent, having selected Jalen Green (2021), Jabari Smith Jr. (2022) and Amen Thompson (2023). (And, of course, trading for Alperen Şengün.) The question is if the Rockets will be in love with anybody at No. 3.

Washington Wizards – No. 2 pick

The Wizards have been pretty much feast or famine in the draft lottery over the last 20 years: lots of big busts and solid picks with some good fortune with star players. Maybe it’s harsh to already call Johnny Davis (2022) a superbust, but I’m going to. Jan Vesely (2011) is a fun throwback name.

This will be Michael Winger’s second draft leading the Wizards’ front office. He grabbed one of my favorite prospects, now-19-year-old Bilal Coulibaly, last year. This year, the second pick could control a lot of the draft, especially if the Hawks don’t grab Alex Sarr (turned 19 in April). The Wizards need depth and options.

Atlanta Hawks – No. 1 pick in 2024

The Hawks hold all the cards for the top of this draft. While this isn’t the best class for changing your team’s fate, like the Spurs did when they grabbed Victor Wembanyama last year, you still can’t afford to mess up the top pick. In the Hawks’ recent lotto history, they’ve had good success.

Guys like Shelden Williams (2006), Acie Law IV (2007) and Cam Reddish (2019) were bad lottery picks. But look at players like Marvin Williams (2005), De’Andre Hunter (2019), Onyeka Okongwu (2020), Al Horford (2007) and Trae Young (2018).

This is a new front office under Landry Fields. You won the lottery. Even in a low-prize lottery, you still can walk away with riches.

Two Prospects

What to expect from NBA’s new French invasion

We’ve recently had a French invasion with Wemby causing rips in the space fabric, Coulibaly looking like a nice prospect for the Wizards and even Killian Hayes occupying the Pistons’ rotation for years. Now, we have two top prospects from France this year. Will they be the real deal?

Alex Sarr | 7-0 | 7-4 wingspan | Big | Perth/France

What I love about his game: The potential of a 7-foot guy with some guard skills and a real nose for making plays on defense. Harnessing his skills into good perimeter scoring is the key.

Something that worries me: His biggest problem is being a strong presence around the rim on both ends. He has to be tougher there.

Is there a decent comp? It’s not fair to throw out the Wemby comp just because he’s French. What about the rare move of comparing a player to someone from a different ethnicity? Maybe Sarr is going to be like Kristaps Porziņģis?

Zaccharie Risacher | 6-8 | 6-10 wingspan | Wing | France

What I love about his game: Excellent passer and has a pretty good team defense understanding for such a young guy.

Something that worries me: I’m not sure he can break anybody down off the dribble, and, if that’s the case, how does he utilize his passing ability outside of transition opportunities? He also needs that jumper to be a threat from deep.

Is there a decent comp? Might be an Otto Porter Jr. type of guy when it’s all said and done.

Guessing Game

Five flawless draft predictions*

What would an NBA Draft be without throwing some predictions into the mix? I have fully vetted these predictions. Disclaimer: By vetted, I mean I read Sam Vecenie’s Draft Guide, watched a lot of video and talked to a few people around the league. These predictions can’t lose!

Hawks take Sarr first. You need to grab the guy with the highest upside. Don’t pass on the 7-footer who can play like a wing.
Rockets trade down. Maybe Reed Sheppard (Kentucky) is too good of a shooter to pass up, but I don’t expect the Rockets to be fawning over any of the prospects left at No. 3.
Pistons don’t grab Matas Buzelis. I see a lot of mock drafts and draft conversations putting Buzelis (G League Ignite) with the Pistons. I think they pass on him for more wing help.
Steph Castle is the best player from this draft. He needs to stop thinking he’s a point guard, but Castle (UConn) is a decent jump shot away from being far and away the best in this draft.
Bronny James goes in the first round. I think a team takes a chance on him, even though he’s John Hollinger’s No. 52 prospect, just in case LeBron James is interested down the road. If not, Bronny (USC) is the star of the second day of the draft broadcast. He should charge an appearance fee.

* – You can’t hold these predictions against me if they’re wrong, please?

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(Top photo: Brad Penner / USA Today )