New York Knicks president Phil Jackson has insisted that the team are reluctant to trade away their top-five pick in this year's NBA Draft.
After finishing the season with a franchise-worst record of 17-65, the Knicks are under pressure to improve their roster in the summer and with plenty of cap space available, there have been reports that they would consider using their guaranteed Draft pick to attract other players.
Despite stopping short of ruling out a trade involving the Draft pick, Jackson claims that the Knicks are keen to see a young player become the key man in New York.
"The reality is we want to grow a star through this system that'll be here for 15 years and a career," Jackson told reporters. "We love the fact that 30 years ago Patrick Ewing was a player with this organization for over 15 years, and that moved the franchise in a way which everybody recognises.
"We think there are a couple of players in this draft that might be able to do that. So we're certainly not going to walk away from a situation like that."
Jackson confirmed that the Knicks had already received two offers for their pick.
Callum Mulvihill
