Knicks Center Gets Rough Draft Grade

The New York Knicks walked away from the 2024 NBA Draft with four rookies to add to the roster.

They finished Day 1 by selecting French guard Pacome Dadiet with the No. 25 overall pick, but their wheeling and dealing on Day 2 landed them with Marquette point guard Tyler Kolek, Kansas wing Kevin McCullar Jr. and German center Ariel Hukporti, who ended up being the final selection in the entire draft.

Hukporti, 22, already has six years of professional experience overseas, playing with teams in Germany, Lithuania and Australia. Now, he could take his talents to the NBA. However, he faces an uphill battle competing for a roster spot in New York.

Bleacher Report writer Zach Buckley graded every pick 1-58 from top choice Zaccharie Risacher all the way to Hukporti, the final selection of the draft. However, he wasn’t a huge fan of Hukporti’s selection, giving the Knicks a “C” for the move.

“Ariel Hukporti has good size and a great motor for the center spot. He is all force and physicality, but he is powerful enough to rumble his way to the rim and finish. On defense, he can protect the paint and tussle with opponents in the low post,” Buckley writes. “His interior play is relentless, but his perimeter value is nonexistent. His shooting touch doesn’t reach beyond the restricted area, he isn’t a good passer and he doesn’t move well enough to hang with perimeter switches.”

While Hukporti is an intriguing prospect, it’s hard to envision him having a long and fruitful career in the NBA. He’s already 22 years old, which is on the older side of most prospects entering the league in this day and age.

On top of that, he’s coming to a Knicks team that added three other rookies and has a coach in Tom Thibodeau who notoriously doesn’t like to give too many minutes to first-year players.

There’s also a possibility that Hukporti stays stashed overseas and the Knicks will hold his NBA rights if or when he’s ready to join the league.

Either way, it’s going to be hard for Hukporti to play meaningful minutes for the Knicks.

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