JUNE 27: The Knicks have officially confirmed (via Twitter) that their deal with the Wizards has been finalized.
JUNE 26: The Wizards have agreed to acquire the No. 24 overall pick from the Knicks and are using it to draft Miami guard Kyshawn George, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), Washington is giving up the 26th and 51th overall selections in exchange for George’s rights.
The Knicks had controlled both the No. 24 and No. 25 picks, so the Wizards presumably felt as if New York would use one of those selections to nab George, or that another team would move up ahead of them for the former Hurricane.
In his freshman season at Miami, George averaged 7.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 23.0 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .426/.408/.778. The Wizards will make the freshman wing their third draft pick of the night — he joins No. 2 pick Alexandre Sarr and No. 14 pick Carlton Carrington on the retooling squad, which is going all-in on player development and building through the draft.
The Knicks, meanwhile, essentially agreed to push their consecutive first-round picks by one spot – they now control the 25th and 26th picks instead of Nos. 24 and 25 – and acquired an extra second-round selection for their trouble.
They’ll reportedly flip that No. 26 pick to the Thunder in exchange for five future second-round picks.
This smells like weaver
Great moves for the Wizards as they continue the rebuild.
I don’t know what to think about George – he was unimpressive in the one Miami game I watched last season – but I am looking forward to seeing the new-look Wizards in action this fall. Three first round picks is a lot more interesting than the usual Wizards offseason.