The New York Knicks have reportedly agreed to a contract with undrafted free agent Luke Kornet out of Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt big man Luke Kornet was one of the best shot blockers in the country during his past two seasons with the Commodores. He was first in the SEC in BPG in 2015-16 and third in the same category in 2016-17.Apparently, the Knicks took notice because they decided to take a flyer on the 21-year-old. According to Chris Haynes of ESPN, the Knicks and Kornet have agreed on a two-way deal.
Undrafted seven-footer rookie Luke Kornet out of Vanderbilt has agreed to a two-way deal with the New York Knicks, league sources tell ESPN.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 23, 2017
The undrafted free agency game worked out well for the Knicks last season. Ron Baker became a key contributor on the 2016-17 squad. After much speculation that he’d be cut, Baker appeared in 52 games, 13 of them starts.
Kornet’s two-way contract is brand new to the 2017-18 season. It was introduced to give teams a 16th and 17th roster spot for project players. Both of whom would spend most of their time in the G-league (formerly the D-league). Players on a two-way contract can spend up to 45 days with the NBA squad.
As of now, the Knicks have one of their project players for next season. However, the amount of time we actually see Kornet should be very little.
DraftExpress notes that Kornet is one of only 22 NCAA bigs (6’10 or taller) in the past 17 years to average at least 2.0 made threes and 2.0 blocked shots per 40 minutes. The Knicks are hopeful some of that translates to the next level.
