NBA Draft Lottery 2019: Warriors Fans Hope Knicks Don't Get No. 1 Pick

The Warriors and their fans likely have all their attention on Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Portland Trail Blazers, which will take place Tuesday night at Oracle Arena.

While the chase for a third straight title rightfully should be at the forefront of everyone's mind, the event that precedes Game 1 -- the NBA Draft Lottery -- has more intrigue for the Warriors this season than in year's past.

The 14 teams who missed the playoffs will hold their breath Tuesday night in the hope that the ping pong balls land in their favor so they can select Duke phenom Zion Williamson with the No. 1 overall pick.

While the Warriors fans likely could care less who lands the next generational star, they should absolutely be tuned in Tuesday night. 

Why would Warriors fans care if Williamson goes to Phoenix, Chicago, Cleveland or New York? Well, that last city creates some issues for the Dubs if the Knicks end up lucky Tuesday night. 

The Knicks tanked all the way to the bottom of the NBA this season, finishing with a 17-65 record on their way to a 14 percent chance at winning the Zion sweepstakes.

While many assume that landing the No. 1 pick would make Williamson a foundational piece of the Knicks' future, that apparently might not be the thinking in Manhattan.

Should the Knicks land the top pick, they will turn their attention to packaging the Zion pick along with Kevin Knox in a trade for Anthony Davis, Stadium's Shams Charania reported Tuesday.

The Knicks acquiring Davis would be a big issue for the Warriors.

New York's plan has been clear for quite some time. After acquiring the No. 1 overall pick and the de facto rights to Williamson, they'll trade the pick for Davis and have the first piece in what they hope is a Big Three made up of Davis, Kyrie Irving and, you guessed it, Kevin Durant.

The possibility of Durant joining the Knicks has hovered over the Warriors all season, but it always seemed like a far-fetched idea that Durant would leave the greatest collection of talent in NBA history to play with a bunch of role players in New York. Of course, reports that Irving wanted to join him in New York made it more likely, but even with Durant and Irving in the fold, New York might not be a team that can win a title. 

But if the Knicks are able to find a way to land Davis it could swing things in the Knicks' favor as it pertains to Durant.

Should Durant return from his right calf strain and help the Warriors win a third straight title, he'll have accomplished everything he can in the Bay. Creating a superteam in New York with Irving and Davis would present a new challenge for the next chapter of Durant's career. 

[RELATED: Warriors-Blazers promises to bring fireworks in West finals]

So before the Dubs and Blazers face off in Game 1, Warriors fans might want to watch the lottery and hope everything doesn't come up Knicks for the first time in a long time.

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