New York Knicks Sign European Star Point Guard

The New York Knicks have announced a four-year contract with point guard Luca Vildoza. The Argentinian guard was playing with Baskonia of the Spanish ACB League.

The deal is worth $13.6 million, this according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Vildoza's agent, Alex Saratsis of Octagon Sports. Vildoza is known as one of the best players playing outside of the NBA and heads to the Knicks with some serious playmaking abilities. While there's no clear timetable for his arrival, word is the Knicks want him on the roster ASAP.

The team had salary cap space and a roster spot to secure Vildoza now and didn't need to wait until free-agency began in the summer. The 25-year-old would have been one of the hottest commodities on the market for other teams to swoop up.

New York was $2.45M below the minimum salary floor and this signing will now push them over.

We saw this occur with OKC and Gabriel Deck.

Smart concept of targeting an international player now (with $$ that would have been lost) compared to waiting until the offseason. https://t.co/tpDi9WpRwz
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) May 5, 2021

According to Woj:

Three non-guaranteed years on the contract give the Knicks the chance to evaluate Vildoza in the Olympics, summer league and training camp before committing to a full guarantee on next season.

Vildoza negotiated a buyout with Baskonia before agreeing to the deal with the Knicks. Vildoza, who's 6-foot-3, was the MVP of the 2020 Spanish ACB Finals upon leading Baskonia to a championship. Vildoza has been a member of Argentina's national team.