Insider Believes Knicks Rookie Could Join Roster

The New York Knicks currently have just 12 guaranteed contracts on the roster, but they could look to add some more up to 15.

There’s a good chance that Landry Shamet, who has a non-guaranteed deal, will eventually be on the roster by the start of the season, but that still leaves two more spots.

Another potential route the Knicks could take toward filling out the roster is converting one of the team’s two-way contracts into a fully-fledged deal. SNY insider Ian Begley believes that the Knicks could do that with rookie center Ariel Hukporti.

Hukporti, 22, was the final pick of the 2024 NBA Draft and he signed a two-way contract with the Knicks earlier in the offseason. He appeared with the Knicks during the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 8.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.

Hukporti is from Germany, but his family is from Togo, making him the first player of Togolese descent to be chosen in the NBA Draft. Hukporti has been in the professional ranks since 2018 when he played for Riesen Ludwigsberg. He spent two years with the team before moving to Lithuania to play with Nevėžis Kėdainiai. After one season with the club, Hukporti spent three years with Melbourne United in Australia’s NBL, where many of the league’s top draft picks have gone to play over the past few seasons.

Given the team’s center depth, it makes sense for Hukporti to be converted to a standard contract rather than the injured Kevin McCullar Jr. or second-year pro Jacob Toppin. However, Hukporti is very much a project even with his experience overseas. The Knicks could decide to go in another route by signing someone else, but they could save a lot of money and keep it in the family by promoting Hukporti.

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