The New York Knicks have had a very puzzling evening after leaving the 2022 NBA Draft first-round with 0 selections made. The Knicks entered the Draft with a lottery pick in a very strong Draft class. They even drafted one of the youngest players available in Ousmane Dieng but moved the 19-year-old to Oklahoma City for three 2023 first-round picks.  

The Knicks were also involved in a complicated three-team trade with the Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons where the Knicks acquired Jalen Duren from the Hornets and promptly traded him to the Pistons for a future pick and a salary dump through Kemba Walker being moved.

Stephen A. Smith has been in attendance at the 2022 NBA Draft and has watched his franchise make these controversial decisions, reacting to the Dieng trade by looking visibly upset and being comforted by Spike Lee.

The Knicks have done all of this in the hopes of having enough cap space to sign Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson. Brunson is an unrestricted free agent coming off a fantastic playoff run where he averaged over 20 points through the post-season as the Mavericks made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. Brunson led the team admirably in the first round when Luka missed the first few games due to injury.

This is not new for the Knicks, who have dumped valuable pieces for cap space in the past. They usually miss on the free agents they target but are making an aggressive push to get Jalen to leave Dallas for New York.

Jalen's father, Rick Brunson, was recently hired to be an assistant coach on the team. With Brunson sharing the guard responsibilities with Luka Doncic, New York does offer him a bigger opportunity. But the Mavericks are Conference Finalists and Brunson could benefit from further developing in Dallas rather than go to New York. If he chooses to snub New York, the fans will not be happy about how New York went about the 2022 Draft.