The New York Knicks recently signed Thanasis Antetokounmpo to a deal to come into training camp and compete for a roster spot. Antetokounmpo was the Knicks second round pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and they knew at the time he was going to be a bit of a project. Antetokounmpo was with the Knicks D-League affiliate the past two seasons but really hadn't made the strides the Knicks had hoped he would which reportedly led to the Knicks firing two coaches with the team, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Kevin Whitted and Craig Hodges were the two coaches that lost their jobs with the Westchester Knicks and Berman reported that Antetokounmpo's lack of development was part of the reason. The Knicks are now in the process of searching for a new head coach of the team in Westchester and Allen Houston, the Knicks assistant general manager, will reportedly decide on the coach, not Phil Jackson.
The Knicks saw Antetokounmpo as a potential sleeper in the 2014 draft mostly because of his younger brother Giannis Antetkounmpo who has become a star in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks. Thanasis has yet to develop the way the Knicks had thought mostly on the offensive end. He should be able to defend immediately when he gets into the league as he is long and athletic but his jump shot still needs a lot of work for him to be a threat on offense.
Despite Antetokounmpo's lack of development in the Knicks eyes they still decided to give him a deal and a chance to compete in training camp for a roster spot. Antetokounmpo reportedly is not a lock to make the roster but he has a decent chance if he can show in camp that his offensive game is showing improvement.
In his last game in the summer league Antetokounmpo did score 17 points on 7-7 from the field so he may be improving. The Knicks may also feel that NBA coaches have a good chance of furthering his development which could be one of the reasons he got an NBA deal.
Antetokounmpo is definitely committed to the Knicks as he has turned down offers from European teams for a lot of money so he could stay in the United States and play for the Knicks D-League team for far less money. He and his agent also said earlier this offseason that this was the year he needed to make an NBA roster because he had already done the D-League for two years and virtually gave the Knicks an ultimatum. Antetokounmpo got the deal he wanted now it is up to him to force his way onto the Knicks roster with a good training camp.
