I'll Have My China Trade War Selloff with No MSG, Please

Shares of The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) are notably green today. MSG, led by CEO James Dolan, is the owner of many entertainment assets including the NBA's New York Knicks. 

With the NBA Draft Lottery scheduled for tomorrow evening, the lowly Knicks have a 14% chance of winning the first overall pick to draft prospective superstar Zion Williamson out of Duke University. That may not seem like a high probability bet, at only 14%, but of all the teams eligible for the lottery (those who did not make the playoffs this year and/or those teams who traded into a given eligible team's picks) the Knicks have the best shot as any team, tied with Cleveland and Phoenix. 

What does that have to do with the stock market, let alone with MSG's stock? 

Well, Williamson is easily one of the most hyped prospects to enter the NBA draft in quite some time. It remains to be seen if he can live up to the hype, with his height and outside shooting abilities some viable concerns about his seemingly inevitable superstardom. 

However, with MSG flashing (mildly) green into a broad market bloodbath, alongside some hot call option activity, the market is sure boldly betting on the Knicks winning the first overall pick. 

If Cleveland, Phoenix, or someone else wins the first pick, will that mean MSG's stock will tank? My best guess is that the stock will slow down temporarily. 

But I suspect, longer-term, Williamson may not even really be the big fish here.

Ultimately, we will know by the first or second week in July whether the Knicks land the true superstar free agents and/or stars wanting to be traded, e.g. Kevin Durant. 

For now, though, MSG is green on a deep red day, and traders are feeling frisky enough to bet on the Knicks winning the NBA lottery. Indeed, if the Knicks procure the first overall pick in the June draft to almost assuredly select Williamson it will be a positive from a PR and marketing standpoint, if nothing else. 

However, for our purposes as traders the chart is a pretty good example of relative strength amid a wild indecisive and headline-sensitive tape.