CHICAGO — The presence of general manager Scott Perry on the dais and new coach David Fizdale on board did nothing to change the Knicks’ stagnant lottery luck Tuesday night.
The pingpong balls didn’t dance the team’s way in a downtown Chicago hotel ballroom, and any visions of Luka Doncic or Deandre Ayton suiting up in orange and blue can cease. The Knicks will stick with the ninth pick — as expected based on their seed and the odds of moving up — in the NBA draft on June 21.
“It held form,’’ Perry said. “Obviously the odds were against us moving up. “I’m just happy we didn’t move back.
“Wherever we ended up, I’m confident we’re going to find a good player. We just hired a new coach as well. I’m still very excited with the direction we’re headed.”
Despite their stated vow of needing a small forward, Knicks brass has also said it could lean toward taking the best player available if his upside is significantly higher than any available small forward.
Small forwards on their radar at No. 9 are Mikal Bridges of NCAA champion Villanova and Michigan State’s Miles Bridges. Pending how his workouts and medical exams go, Missouri small forward Michael Porter could possibly drop as he missed virtually all season with a back injury.
In his first comments about the pair of Bridges, Perry said, “We’re going to dive into both of those guys as we move forward. Both are very good basketball players who put themselves in position to be in consideration by a number of teams in the lottery. I can’t wait to meet both of those young guys to really get a feel for who they are and how they may and may not fit.”
After a 29-53 season, the Knicks owned a 6.1 percent chance of moving into the top three and an 81 percent chance of staying where they were. The Knicks haven’t moved up in the lottery since their historic 1985 victory in the Patrick Ewing sweepstakes in the inaugural event.
Phoenix, which entered the lottery with the highest odds, landed the No. 1 pick, while the Kings and Hawks moved up to No. 2 and 3, respectively.
That lucky tanking trio has a shot at the consensus top three of Ayton, Duke power forward Marvin Bagley III and the Slovenian small forward Doncic, after whom the Knicks lusted.
Asked if he could still net a star at No. 9, Perry said, “You never know. You look around and Utah had good success where they were [Donovan Mitchell, at No. 13 last year]. A lot of times in the draft everybody has to be careful. A lot of it is fit, too. Some guys may get drafted in a particular place where it’s not a great fit initially or it is a great fit.
“I think that’s the important thing for us — finding the personality whose game is the closest fit to how we want to play and what we want to be.”
The Knicks have a glut of young point guards, but they may have trouble passing on uber-talented Oklahoma point Trae Young in the unlikely event he falls to ninth. Alabama’s speedy point guard Collin Sexton, however, should be there.
Can the Knicks take yet another point guard after nabbing Frank Ntilikina last June at No. 8?
“It would only make sense if you feel that guard is far and away better than what you have on the roster,’’ Perry said. “And we haven’t been able to make that determination yet.”
The draft combine begins here Wednesday with player interviews. The lottery was switched out of New York for the first time to unite the two draft-oriented events.
Perry said about four members of the front office — and Fizdale — will participate in the interviews.
“I just think you want to get an initial feel of what his personality is like,’’ Perry said of prospective draft picks. “We’ve a lot of intel on these guys and so maybe there will be a few questions that you ask and that you may want answered, whether it’s things in his background or past.’’
Perry said he was delighted to have hired a coach before the combine. The GM said the bulk of individual workouts may not start until June 1.
“I think it’s extremely important to have the coach in house because the more we spend time with David and the more he gets a chance to spend with these guys we bring in to work out and see what players may or may not fit with how he’s going to coach the team and his personality,’’ Perry said. “It was important to us to have the coach in place in time for the draft process at the combine. I’m sure he’s going to have to catch up a little and learn more about the players. He hasn’t been coaching for a year. We’ll bring him up to speed.”