The Knicks are filling the open two-way contract slot on their roster by signing former first-round pick Luka Samanic to a two-way deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Samanic, the 19th overall pick in the 2019 draft, had been under contract with the Spurs up until this week, but San Antonio was facing a roster crunch with 17 players on guaranteed salaries and only 15 roster spots for the regular season. The 6-10 power forward, a victim of that crunch, was waived on Monday.
Samanic appeared in 36 total games in two years as a Spur, averaging 3.8 PPG and 2.2 RPG on .430/.294/.576 shooting in 9.9 MPG. Despite his modest numbers in San Antonio, the Knicks apparently see some untapped potential in the 21-year-old Croatian.
A two-way contract will allow Samanic to play in up to 50 regular-season NBA games, so he’ll likely spend some time with the Westchester Knicks in the G League. Jericho Sims is New York’s other two-way player.
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