Knicks Could Keep A+ Roster Going Strong With Smart Draft Addition

The New York Knicks are the talk of the 2026 NBA Finals, and that’s not stopping anytime soon, but the franchise should also keep one eye on the NBA draft on the way.

The Knicks obviously have a strong roster, but to plan for the future, they need to add budding talent.

So, who should the Knicks snag in the NBA draft? In a mock draft out on Saturday, May 23, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report names his projections for the upcoming draft and has the team going with Jayden Quaintance, a power forward and center, out of Kentucky.

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“The Knicks might need to seek out size here, since there’s a real chance free agency winds up luring Mitchell Robinson away,” he states in the piece. “Quaintance might be the perfect replacement-for better and worse.”

He adds: “Like Robinson, Quaintance is absurdly bouncy and impressively mobile for his size (6’10”, 255 lbs). He’s also just as littered with availability concerns due to the devastating knee injury that prematurely ended his freshman season and effectively prevented his sophomore campaign from ever getting started.”

My Analysis: Jayden Quaintance to the Knicks

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The Knicks are on fire and have a good thing going for them, so they don’t need a total rebuild or rookies that change the chemistry of this team. I like the Quaintance pick because he already has a mobile playing style that fits New York. He’s a better player than his projected draft slot late in the first round, too, and if he hadn’t been injured last season, he would probably be in the top 10.

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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 10:15 AM.