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Marc Berman of the New York Post reported this morning that former Vanderbilt star Luke Kornet has agreed to a one-year contract with the New York Knicks worth $1.6 million.
Source: Knicks have agreed to terms with C Luke Kornet on a one-year deal for $1.6M - his non-bird exception.
— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) July 1, 2018
Last year, Kornet signed a two-way contract with the Knicks after going undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft. That proved to be a good pickup: Luke averaged 16.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.5 apg, and 1.7 bpg in 36 games for the Westchester Knicks of the G-League. He appeared in 20 games for the New York Knicks, averaging 16.3 minutes per game and averaging 6.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.8 blocks.
The Knicks had the option of re-signing Kornet to a two-way contract for the 2018-19 season, but that came with two problems. First, the Knicks had already signed undrafted free agent Allonzo Trier to one of their two designated two-way contracts, meaning that the Knicks would have to let one of their two players from last season (Kornet and Isaiah Hicks) walk, or else sign one or both to a rookie contract.
The other issue with re-signing Luke to a two-way contract is that players on such a contract are limited to a maximum of 45 days on the active NBA roster. With Kristaps Porzingis out until early 2019 with a torn ACL, the Knicks were probably going to need Luke for longer than 45 days, so the only real option was to sign him.
So now, we can expect to see a lot more of Luke in the NBA. Anchor Down.