New York Knicks Adding Maurice Ndour Makes Sense
The New York Knicks made a solid signing with Maurice Ndour, as he has the potential to carve out a role in their scheme.
The New York Knicks continued their strong offseason this week, as they agreed to a deal with Maurice Ndour. The deal is two-year deal and is guaranteed, so the Knicks roster now has 14 players with guaranteed deals for the 2016-17 season.
While this move could come as a surprise for some, it is one that the Knicks have been hoping to sign since last summer. Ndour played for the Knicks’ Summer League team last season, and impressed.
The 6-foot-9 inch forward played very well for the Knicks last summer, averaging 9.4 points per game in Las Vegas. He also put his huge 7-feet-4 inch wingspan to use, as he averaged 3.6 deflections per game as well during the Summer League.
He brought energy and effort on both ends of the court, and looked like he would fit in well with what the Knicks were trying to do. His length and versatility would help on the defensive side of the ball, while he had the skill set to succeed offensively as well. He is a threat from the high post to score or pass the ball, which fits into the triangle offense the Knicks are still expected to adapt some sets and schemes from.
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But, Ndour’s performance in the Summer League did not go unnoticed, as the Knicks were not the only team that wanted to sign him. They were eventually outbid by the Dallas Mavericks, who gave him some guaranteed money to go to training camp with them.
But, with tough decisions to be made with their roster, the Mavericks had to release Ndour in training camp, so he became a free agent. Ndour didn’t land another deal with an NBA team, as he signed with Real Madrid overseas.
He didn’t play much with Real Madrid, averaging only 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds in nine minutes per game. Those numbers aren’t strong, but the Knicks did not forget about him as they finally landed their man this week, almost a year after they lost him to the Mavericks.
Ndour only has last summer’s performance to fall back on, so it is surprising to see the Knicks give him a chance after showing very little after that. But, the fit is tough to ignore between Ndour and the Knicks, as he should excel in their scheme.
Ndour looks like someone that could fall into a similar mold as Lance Thomas, someone who brings energy to the court and is versatile defensively. He also made 38.8 percent of his three-point shots while playing at Ohio University, so he is already further ahead in his development in that area than Thomas was. If he develops as Thomas has with the Knicks, they should be very happy with the outcome.
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Ndour will battle with Willy Hernangomez, Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Kyle O’Quinn for minutes as the reserve power forward, and could also try finding minutes at small forward if he can show that he can shoot well enough to space the floor.
By signing a minimum deal for two years, the Knicks add another piece to their bench for next season without sacrificing cap space, which they could use to push their roster to the next level next season.