Phil Jackson on draft prep: 'We're good at what we do'

The New York Knicks entered Tuesday's NBA Draft Lottery in position to select seventh on June 22. Yet, as the rules of the lottery dictate, a team can move up or down in the order. The balls didn't bounce New York's way, and they ended up with the eighth pick.

Team president Phil Jackson was philosophical about that afterward, and knew it could have been worse - there was a 0.01 percent chance that the Knicks could have fallen to 10th.

"Our opportunity (at) seven could have been 10, so eight we'll live with," Jackson said, according to ESPN's Ian Begley. "I think that we're good at what we do."

Many Knicks observers would debate his last sentence, but the fact the team slipped at all is more fodder for a frustrated fan base and rabid media.

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The Knicks also had a 5.3 percent chance of moving up to pick first, but draft hasn't been in heavy supply for the franchise in recent seasons. Last year, they lost their first-rounder to the Toronto Raptors. They appear to have hit on Kristaps Porzingis in 2015, but in Jackson's first draft with them a year earlier, New York was limited to two second-rounders - picks that became Cleanthony Early and Thanasis Antetokounmpo.

Still, the 2017 class is considered deep, and players that could be good fits for the Knicks - like Dennis Smith Jr. - may be available. The draft could also serve as the stage for a Carmelo Anthony trade, something Jackson seems determined to pull off this summer.

The last time the Knicks picked eighth was in 2009. They just missed out on Steph Curry, who went at No. 7, and selected Jordan Hill one spot ahead of DeMar DeRozan.