Summer League gave the Knicks a look at more than just their own draft picks. It also offered an early glimpse at what they gave away.
Ugonna Onyenso, the Virginia big man New York took with the No. 53 pick before shipping him to the Pistons for cash considerations, turned in enough in Las Vegas to make that move look shakier by the day. He wasn’t lighting up scoreboards, but he was doing the dirty work that bigs get paid to do: 2.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game across five appearances, all in 17.7 minutes a night.
That kind of production doesn’t jump off the page at first glance. But it tells you something useful about the player.
Onyenso made his impact around the rim, leaned into rebounding and shot-blocking, and squeezed value out of limited touches. In other words, he played to his strengths.
His best night in Vegas was the one that really stings for New York. Onyenso posted eight rebounds and five blocks in 21 minutes, including four offensive boards that helped generate extra possessions. It was the sort of effort that makes a coach notice, and it looked a lot like Mitchell Robinson’s brand of influence in the paint.
That comparison matters because the Knicks had reason to think twice even when they made the deal. Robinson was a threat to walk before free agency, and Onyenso’s size and tools made him a worthy end-of-second-round swing. He measured 6-foot-11 barefoot, has a 7-foot-4 wingspan and weighs nearly 240 pounds, with the athletic profile of a shot-blocking center who can make life difficult around the basket.
The logic behind moving him seemed to rest on roster flexibility. New York appeared confident it could bring back Ariel Hukporti, maybe even Robinson, while clearing room and avoiding another rookie obligation. But that plan unraveled in free agency.
The Knicks passed on making Hukporti a restricted free agent in an effort to save around $200K and bring him back on a minimum deal. Instead, the 76ers signed him for more than a million above what New York expected. That left the Knicks without a third big behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond, and without a developmental center in the pipeline.
It’s fair to wonder whether Onyenso would have been ready to step into a real rotation role right away, even if he had stayed in New York. But he would have been an option, and one with enough upside to justify patient development into a future backup.
What makes the decision look even tougher now is that Onyenso ended up on a two-way contract with Detroit. That means the Knicks could have kept him on a deal with little cap impact and minimal commitment. For a late second-round pick, that’s about as low-risk as it gets.
The Pistons’ announcement made the point plain: Onyenso was available on a contract that would have fit easily into New York’s plans. If the Knicks had wanted to keep him, they could have stashed him in the G League, evaluated him further, or even moved on later if it didn’t work out.
Maybe New York drafted Onyenso with real interest. Maybe he was simply a piece to flip. Either way, the result is the same: the Knicks had a big man with real tools in hand, and now he’s showing that upside somewhere else.
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Knicks Silence On Two-Way Deals Has Fans Watching The Frontcourt Closely
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Liam Robbins, Trey Jemison, Jack Kayil and Tyler Nickel are among the names in the mix for those spots, while Kevin McCullar Jr. has been pushed away from that conversation. The more interesting part is what the Knicks may be waiting on before they move, because their frontcourt search has not been limited to the margins and those two-way decisions could still be tied to a larger swing elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]