The New York Knicks are set to enter the 2026 NBA Draft with three picks that will give them real chances to add cheap and impactful players to reload a championship roster that might be facing a luxury tax apron crunch. While the majority of the team’s core has been acquired via free agency or trade, Knicks President of Basketball Operations Leon Rose and his staff have drafted well in his tenure. Even though most of their recent promising young players have been shipped out in deals for established veterans, they wouldn’t have OG Anunoby without drafting and developing Immanuel Quickley. They have seven of Rose’s young draftees waiting in the wings for increased roles. Mo Diawara and Tyler Kolek played real minutes in the regular season, and Ariel Hukporti is even spelled KAT and Mitch for brief stretches in this year’s playoffs, including some pretty impactful minutes in the NBA Finals.
The roster is in flux and there are opportunities for the incumbent young guys to join the rotation next season. Even with Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamet, Jordan Clarkson, Mo Diawara, Ariel Hukporti, and Jeremy Sochan unsigned for next season, the Knicks already have the NBA’s fifth most salary tied up for the 2026-2027 season. That’s the price of a championship roster. Further team building will likely lean on developing their young talent and another year of inexpensive draftees alongside veteran minimum signings. Expect multiple second-round picks to join the team next season, as they provide cheap contracts that round out the final spots on the bench or even replace existing rookie contract bets.
The Knicks likely won’t pick exactly at their current draft slots of 24, 31, and 55, since they’ve made draft-day trades in six of seven years of Rose’s tenure with the organization. There will likely be minor trades and tweaks in draft position, but it’s reasonable to expect the Knicks to select three players in these ranges on June 23 and 24. This Knicks regime loves to find value at these sections of the draft – outside of Obi Toppin (No. 8 overall) and Trevor Keels (No. 42), every single player the Knicks have taken falls within these ranges. Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, and Pacome Dadiet all went No. 25 overall. Miles McBride, Tyler Kolek, and Rokas Jokubaitis were selected in the early- to mid-30s. Mo Diawara, Jericho Sims, Ariel Hukporti, and Kevin McCullar Jr. were all drafted in the 50s.
Knicks scouts should be jumping for joy having multiple picks during the 2026 draft, which appears as of now to be one of the best and deepest in history. Despite the flood of college players returning to the NCAA for their massive NIL checks (most recently Ruben Chinyelu, who would have been featured in this series of articles), there’s still a great deal of talent to be had throughout the draft. The future success of the team depends on how successfully they scout, draft, and develop these young players, even if they ultimately trade them away to add veterans to the current championship window.
Using a consensus big board, rather than my own, we can understand the draft range of different prospects according to the mainstream media. This article uses these rankings as of June 15, as they’re constantly being updated. In this Knicks Picks series, I’ll lay out the case for my five favorite prospects for the Knicks in each range. Let’s start with the first round pick at 24, which stands as the Knicks’ best chance to get a quality rotational player for next year’s roster, or a young player with serious upside.
Jayden Quaintance
Sophomore Big, Kentucky
Consensus rank: 19
Stats (2024-2025 Season): 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.5 APG
NBA Combine measurements:
