With the NBA's February 5 trade deadline approaching, the New York Knicks are in an interesting situation. One of their young players may have just flashed a key development at the perfect time. Ariel Hukporti has been seen working on his 3-point shot with assistants before games, even unsuccessfully attempting some in G-League contests. On Friday night, though, Hukporti made the first, and second, 3-pointers of his career for the Westchester Knicks. It's a potential sign of things to come for the young center that could change New York's calculus ahead of the deadline.
Hukporti puts up a 3-pointer... bang?!
It might come as a surprise to those unaware that the 23-year-old center has been honing his accuracy from 3-point range, but this has been in the works. Hukporti had been seen working on 3-pointers ahead of a preseason game at Madison Square Garden, but the big man had never taken one in a game. That changed two months later, when he launched four in one night while playing for Westchester.
Although Hukporti did not convert a single one of those attempts into any points at all, it showed that an effort was being made to expand his game. That effort showed its first dividends on Friday night in Westchester, when the Knicks' G-League squad hosted the Windy City Bulls, led by Mac McClung and a former Knick in Kevin Knox II.
While Pacôme Dadiet and Kevin McCullar Jr. led the team's scoring efforts in a 114-104 victory, Hukporti's stat-line is the one that jumps off of the screen. The big man had 18 points, seven rebounds, and two assists on 8-for-10 field goal shooting. That included him going 2-of-3 from behind the arc.
As "they" say, sometimes a player just needs to see one go through the basket. On Friday night, Hukporti did that twice. It's unknown how soon this skill will translate to the NBA level. Or rather, it's unknown when the Knicks' coaching staff is looking to have Hukporti begin to try shooting from behind the 3-point line in NBA games.
It might take another game like this week's 120-66 win over the Brooklyn Nets, which set a Knicks franchise record for their largest victory. Head coach Mike Brown credited a group of the team's younger players after the game for practicing with the Westchester squad earlier in the day and still sticking to their fundamentals and giving the team good run in "garbage time."
Nobody knows when the next time the Knicks are up 50 points in a game is going to be. But if it happens, don't be suprised if you see Hukporti letting loose from downtown.