The New York Knicks went out and signed undrafted UCLA forward Kris Wilkes on Thursday night to a two-way contract.
The New York Knicks added more depth than just their two draft selections on Thursday night.
New York also signed UCLA forward Kris Wilkes according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. The 20-year-old went undrafted on Thursday night. The contract for Wilkes will be a two-way deal. He’ll spend the majority of next season playing for the Westchester Knicks.
Wilkes averaged 17.4 points and 4.8 rebounds on 43.3% shooting from the field for UCLA this past season. His efforts earned him second-team All-Pac-12 this season. Wilkes previously was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team in 2018 and was a McDonald’s All-American in 2017.
At 6-foot-8, Wilkes is a long, athletic forward who can spot up from deep, as he shot 34% from behind the arc this past year.
Knicks fans should be happy with the signing, as well as the other two players they received Thursday night. New York drafted Duke guard RJ Barrett in the first round at No. 3 overall. They then traded up to No. 47 overall in the second round to select Michigan small forward Ignas Brazdeikis.
Barrett should be of the most dominant aspects of the Knicks roster for years to come. In his lone season at Duke, the young Barrett averaged 22.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists on 45.4% shooting from the field. His efforts earned the 19-year-old consensus first-team All-American honors this past year along with first-team All-ACC honors. Barrett was also given the Jerry West Award for the top shooting guard of the year.
Brazdeikis, for Michigan, averaged 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds on 46.2% shooting from the field and 39.2% from behind the arc. He earned AP honorable mention All-American honors this past year along with winning the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award.
