The New York Knicks have held a Zoom call with NBA draft prospect Jordan Nwora.
As the New York Knicks prepare for the 2020 NBA Draft amid the coronavirus pandemic, they are performing player interviews on Zoom calls. One player they have reportedly met with via the video conferencing service is Louisville forward Jordan Nwora, according to Adam Zagoria.
Nwora, who has met with about 20 NBA teams, decided to return to college for his junior year, hoping it would help his draft prospects in 2020. He used the opportunity to shine in the ACC, averaging 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists, while earning First-Team All-ACC honors.
He was also named as a Third-Team All-American for his 2019-20 performance.
New York is reportedly interested in adding a forward who can shoot to their roster this offseason, and Nwora fits the bill. He shot 40.2% from downtown this season, while attempting a high volume of shots (6.1 per game). According to The Stepien, he is not a good “movement shooter” and “pretty boxed in as catch & shoot.” However, the 6-foot-7 forward can clearly space the floor.
The New York Knicks new front office is getting to work.
The Knicks recently hired Jazz executive Walt Perrin to lead their college scouting efforts. Perrin officially joined the staff earlier this week, so presumably, he will start to participate in the team’s activities to prepare for the upcoming draft, which is still scheduled for June 25, despite all indications pointing to it being rescheduled to September, or later, depending on when the 2019-20 regular season concludes.
The Buffalo native, Nwora, is projected as a late second round pick by many mock drafts. The Knicks are currently slotted to pick early in the second round from the pick they acquired in the Willy Hernangomez trade from Charlotte. Their own second round pick is owed to Philadelphia.
It was reported last week the Knicks were also set for a virtual interview with Arizona forward Zeke Nnaji.
It will be interesting to see how teams navigate the draft prep landscape after the scouting season was cut short due to the pandemic, and with in-person meetings and workouts on hold. As states throughout the country begin to ease coronavirus-related restrictions, it seems possible teams will be able to hold small workouts as the actual draft date approaches.