Rose Garden?

Tonight, before the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals, the NBA’s non-playoff teams are in for a little excitement of their own with the NBA Draft Lottery at 7:30 p.m. in Secaucus, New Jersey. And no team has more at stake than the New York Knicks.

With the fifth most chances (76 / 1000), the Knicks certainly do not look poised to receive the No. 1 overall pick. At this point, most columnists would delve 23 years ago into the first Lottery in 1985 with the selection of Patrick Ewing and the supposed “frozen envelope.” Didn’t happen—get over it.

But if the Knicks get lucky and do receive the No. 1 selection, a franchise turn around will seem more feasible than ever. No, there is not a LeBron James or Michael Jordan sitting at No. 1, but there is Memphis point guard Derrick Rose. For a team that hasn’t had a first round selection the last two seasons because of a (standard) horrible Isiah Thomas trade with the Chicago Bulls, Rose would be the perfect catalyst to re-invigorate the team and fan base.

Rose has more than talent. He is the absolute perfect fit for new Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni’s run-and-gun scheme. I promise you this, if the Knicks win the Lottery tonight, D’Antoni (who is representing the team) will slam the table with excitement harder than Dave DeBusschere once did.

In case you don’t believe me, here is some proof of how the Knicks organization feels about rose.

"I just haven't seen too many guys with that kind of explosion from the point-guard position," GM Donnie Walsh told the New York Post yesterday about Rose. "It's the kind you rarely see."

"There's guys who are going to be very good point guards in this league," Walsh said. "Derrick Rose instinctively is a good point guard. There's not one as obvious as Rose but they can develop into really good point guards. Our job is to find which is the one."

D’Antoni has told those close to him that he thinks Rose can be the next Steve Nash. He told the New York Post that Rose is “Jason Kidd with a shot.” That is pretty high praise from a guy that knows his point guards like Charles Barkley knows the hard-six.

With a 16 percent chance of receiving a top two pick, the Knicks would likely trade up to No. 1 if they were concerned the team in front of them would pick Rose over Kansas State PF Michael Beasley. Most important for the franchise is that they are not unlucky and fall out of their natural No. 5 spot. At No. 5, the Knicks would still be in position to try their hand at O.J. Mayo, Jerryd Bayless and Eric Gorden—combo guards that could be converted to the point. If they fell, they’d be looking at Texas PG D.J. Augustin.

Oh, by the way, Jay-Z will be representing the New Jersey Nets at the Lottery. Just thought I’d throw that out there.