The Nba Draft Second Round begins Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on, and the New York Knicks are up first at No. 31. That makes their choice the first move of the round, and it could be the most watched one, too.
Jeremy Woo has Henri Veesaar going to the Knicks at No. 31, a fit that follows a season after Veesaar transferred to North Carolina and paired well with Caleb Wilson on an NBA-quality front line. If New York keeps the pick, Veesaar is the name to watch. If it does not, the No. 31 slot becomes the kind of asset that can move quickly once the round opens.
That is why the search interest lands now. Round 1 already sent AJ Dybantsa to the Washington Wizards at No. 1, Darryn Peterson to the Utah Jazz at No. 2, Morez Johnson Jr. to Dallas at No. 9 and Mikel Brown Jr. to the Brooklyn Nets at No. 6, leaving Round 2 to turn on fit, value and timing rather than certainty. The Knicks also added five second-round picks after three trades Tuesday, giving them more room to maneuver than a normal team picking first in the round.
That flexibility is exactly what complicates the Veesaar projection. Woo also sees Ryan Conwell coming off the board in the 30s, and the board now includes players such as Kayil, who stayed in the draft after being committed to Gonzaga and spent the season as an offensive focal point for Alba Berlin. But New York’s position is not just about taking the best remaining player; it is also about whether one pick, or several, gets turned into something else before the Knicks make their first Round 2 selection.
The cleanest read is that No. 31 gives the Knicks the first real swing of the round, but not necessarily the first real pick they keep. With five second-round picks in hand, they can either target a player like Veesaar or use the slot as the opening move in another deal. Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET will answer the first part fast. The harder question is whether the Knicks are selecting for themselves, or selecting for the market.
