The Knicks own a conditional first-round pick from the Washington Wizards — but Washington is doing everything in its power to make sure those conditions never come to pass.

And that’s perfectly fine.

Because for a Knicks front office strapped for draft capital during a championship-or-bust window, a premium second-rounder might be the exact sweetener needed to seal a future deal. Even if it’s not the first-round prize they once envisioned, it could still carry plenty of value when the phones start ringing.

Call them the Stevia Wizards — light on wins, light on substance, but just enough to spice up New York’s trade package.

The Knicks face those same Wizards in preseason game No. 4 of 5 on Monday night at Madison Square Garden — a matchup that offers more value for internal evaluations than it does for the win-loss column. Head coach Mike Brown is expected to scale back the starters’ workload while giving fringe rotation players one last opportunity to solidify their case for a roster spot ahead of opening night.

With only one preseason game remaining after Monday, the battle for the final guaranteed contract is heating up. Brown said he’s still weighing his options, with several veterans — including Malcolm Brogdon, Landry Shamet and Garrison Mathews — making strong cases in camp. But as the Knicks sort through their depth, the Wizards appear locked into another season of roster turnover, youth development, and strategic losing.

And the worse Washington performs, the better that conditional draft asset becomes — even if it’s no longer wrapped in a first-round bow.

Las Vegas has set Washington’s over-under win total at 20.5 for the 2025-26 season, and ESPN Bet projects the team to finish with just 14.2 wins — dead last in the league. Yes, even lower than the Brooklyn Nets, who are forecasted for 17.6 victories despite going all-in on youth with five first-round picks in June’s draft.

That’s bad news for the Knicks’ hopes of the pick conveying as a first-rounder — a scarce asset for a franchise already handcuffed by the five first-rounders it sent to Brooklyn in the blockbuster trade for Mikal Bridges.

There is a silver lining, of course. Just because this pick might not glitter like a first-round gem doesn’t mean it can’t shine as draft asset gold.

HOW DID KNICKS GET WIZARDS PICK?

The Knicks landed this conditional pick from Washington as part of the 2022 NBA Draft night deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder — the one that sent Ousmane Dieng to OKC at No. 11 overall. In exchange, the Knicks received three future first-round picks:

A 2023 Detroit Pistons first (later packaged in the Karl-Anthony Towns deal with Minnesota)
A 2023 Denver Nuggets pick (flipped to Charlotte for Jalen Duren, who was then rerouted to Detroit to help shed Kemba Walker’s contract)
And a conditional Wizards first-rounder — the one still hanging in limbo.

That pick came with heavy protections: lottery-protected in 2023, top-12 in 2024, top-10 in 2025, and top-8 in 2026. Translation: unless the Wizards unexpectedly surge, this likely won’t be a first-round pick anytime soon.

And a surge doesn’t seem likely.

Despite an intriguing mix of young talent (No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George, Cam Whitmore) and veterans (C.J. McCollum, Khris Middleton, Marvin Bagley, Anthony Gill), the Wizards finished dead last in the league a season ago — and are widely expected to land in the same spot this year.

Barring a miracle, Washington looks like a bottom-three team again.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PICK?

Although the pick is top-eight protected, the Knicks aren’t walking away empty-handed if it doesn’t convey as a first-rounder. If Washington’s selection lands in the top eight — which it almost certainly will — the Knicks will instead receive two second-round picks from the Wizards in 2026 and 2027.

That may sound like a letdown, but it’s actually a sneaky win.

Unlike the first round, there’s no lottery in the second. The draft order goes from worst to first — and if the Wizards finish with one of the league’s three worst records (as expected), New York could be looking at a top-three second-round pick next summer. If Washington remains in the cellar, the same applies in 2027.

For a Knicks front office already low on tradable firsts, that matters.

As it stands, New York only controls two tradable first-round picks: its own in 2033 and this conditional Wizards selection, which is unlikely to convert. The rest are tied up in the Bridges trade — either sent outright to Brooklyn, locked in swaps, or restricted from being dealt because of the Ted Stepien Rule, which prevents teams from going consecutive drafts without a first-rounder.

The Knicks do have up to eight second-round picks stockpiled entering the season. But if Washington bottoms out again, those second-rounders from D.C. instantly become the most valuable chips in the pile.

THERE’S A CHANCE WIZARDS PICK CONVEYS AS 1ST-ROUNDER?

There’s always a chance — but it’s slim to none.

Just ask the 2024 Atlanta Hawks. They finished 10th in the East with a 36-46 record and held just a 3% shot at the No. 1 overall pick. That’s all they needed to jump the board and draft Zaccharie Risacher. Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons — owners of the league’s worst record — slipped to No. 5.

The NBA’s revamped lottery system smooths the odds for the three worst teams, giving each a 14% shot at the top pick. But it also guarantees those teams can fall no lower than fifth — a safeguard that all but locks out bottom-feeders like the Wizards from landing outside the top-eight protection window.

That means this pick is almost certain to convert to second-round compensation.

And that’s fine by the Knicks. They’ve consistently found value in Day 2 of the draft, and with late-first talent often slipping into Round 2, the difference can be negligible — especially when a premium second can help grease the wheels of a future trade.

Remember, the Knicks didn’t need a first-rounder to land OG Anunoby.

The 31st overall pick via Detroit was just the sweetener they needed — bundled with impact players R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley — to close the deal with Toronto.

And with the Sweet’N Low Wizards on track for another sugar-coated season at the bottom of the standings, a top-tier second-rounder might be exactly what the doctor orders to get the next one done.