‘Honored’ Spurs Coach Reacts to Unusual Knicks Trade

Petteri Koponen is possibly destined to come off a bench for the New York Knicks next season … but only at the end of the game to shake the hands of Tom Thibodeau and his staff upon the completion of a game against the San Antonio Spurs.

Koponen is destined to go down as an extraordinarily niche bit of Knicks trivia, as his draft rights were dealt to New York in one of the many deals that went down during the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft. In one of several deal approved by Leon Rose and Co., the Knicks sent the 51st overall pick (France star Melvin Ajinca) to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Koponen, cash considerations, and Thursday’s 58th/final pick which became German center Ariel Hukporti).

There’s just one issue: Koponen is currently stationed as a coach with the Spurs.

Earlier this week, Koponen was tabbed to lead the Spurs’ Summer League team, which opens play on July 6 against the Charlotte Hornets’ prospects. That’ll obviously make it difficult for him to report to New York, which Koponen acknowledged on X after the trade went down. The 36-year-old, however, intends to stick with San Antonio … but can perhaps be lured to Manhattan at the right price.

“I’m honored (Knicks), but I’m still going to honor my commitment with (the Spurs),” Koponen said. “Of course, a financially ridiculous offer could change things (and) I got the new hip! I’m ready!”

Though Koponen never appeared in an NBA game, he stands as one of the most accomplished Finnish basketball players of all-time. He has been bestowed the Finnish Basketball Player of the Year Award on seven occasions, tied with current Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen for the second-most all-time and has earned multiple championships overseas.

As for his NBA journey, Koponen was the 30th and final pick of the first round of the NBA Draft in 2007, chosen by the Philadelphia 76ers. Philadelphia obtained the pick from Denver (who through Golden State through, ironically enough, Dallas) in the trade that ended Allen Iverson’s illustrious career on South Broad Street.

Koponen was immediately dealt to the Portland Trail Blazers for 42nd overall pick Derrick Byars and cash considerations. He had been in the Mavericks’ system for the last 13 years, as his draft rights were sent to North Texas in a multi-pronged three-team deal. Koponen kept making a name for himself in Europe amidst the chaos and even led competitors in assists during the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup (beating out known NBA names like Ricky Rubio, Goran Dragic, and Pablo Prigioni).

As to why the Knicks would trade for a Summer League bench general, draft rights to long-forgotten prospects are often used to financially stabilize later deals. The inclusion of Koponen certainly made this one between the Knicks and Mavericks one of the more unique transactions.

When the dust settled, the Knicks ended up with three players joining Wednesday’s first-round choice Pacome Dadiet. In between Dadiet and Hukparti, the Knicks brought in Marquette’s Tyler Kolek at No. 34 and Kansas’ Kevin McCullar Jr. at 56th.

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