{"id":99034,"date":"2024-10-04T11:13:32","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T15:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=99034"},"modified":"2024-10-04T11:13:32","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T15:13:32","slug":"knicks-acquire-hidden-gem-james-nnaji-in-kat-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/04\/knicks-acquire-hidden-gem-james-nnaji-in-kat-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks Acquire Hidden Gem James Nnaji in KAT Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/townska01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a> trade shook the NBA world to its core. While fans were divided on the benefit of this trade because of Towns&#8217; flaws, analysts and NBA media members have crowned this an awesome trade for the Knicks. The Knicks&#8217; title odds have improved drastically, and they are now considered one of the best starting fives in the NBA come opening day. The full returns of the trades are Karl-Anthony Towns and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/n\/nnajija01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Nnaji<\/a>.\u00a0While KAT is the biggest piece in this trade, who exactly is James Nnaji?<\/p>\n<h2>Knicks Acquire Hidden Gem James Nnaji in KAT Trade<\/h2>\n<p>Win the 1st pick of the 2nd-round in the 2023 NBA draft, the Detroit Pistons drafted James Nnaji. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/draft\/2023\/prospects\/james-nnaji\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nnaji<\/a>, a 20-year-old center from Makurdi, Nigeria was considered the best physical prospect in the draft. Standing at 6-foot-11, 251 pounds with a 7-foot-5 wingspan, he had the best body in last year&#8217;s draft.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I&#8217;m a James Nnaji believer. 2023 draft profile: <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2ZcfeeE5mj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/2ZcfeeE5mj<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tOsKorqURv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/tOsKorqURv<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Kevin O&#8217;Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KevinOConnorNBA\/status\/1841275874911338842?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Skill Set<\/h3>\n<p>Playing for Barca in the Liga ACB, Nnaji is a versatile big who can dominate both ends of the floor. He&#8217;s a big who loves playing in the paint and has traits that Thibs will love. During his time in the ACB, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/international\/players\/james-nnaji-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nnaji<\/a> has been an elite defender, averaging 2.2 blocks per 36 minutes. To put that in context, 2.2 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/leaders?StatCategory=BLK&amp;SeasonType=Regular+Season\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">blocks<\/a> per would have ranked sixth in the league last season. Similar to <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wembavi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Wembanyama<\/a> last season, Nnaji&#8217;s mere presence in the Liga ACB was enough to scare players away from the rim. He&#8217;s not great on the perimeter, but that&#8217;s fine. The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/28\/prediction-knicks-have-first-60-win-season-since-1992-93\/\" target=\"_self\">Knicks<\/a> are built to play outside and defend on the perimeter, so adding a big who exclusively plays inside should not be a major issue.<\/p>\n<p>Much like <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gordoaa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aaron Gordon<\/a> for the Nuggets, Nnaji likes playing in the dunker&#8217;s spot right under the rim and is a highly efficient finisher. Additionally, he&#8217;s a willing screen setter which gives the Knicks another option to open men up for <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brunsja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jalen Brunson<\/a>. All of James Nnaji&#8217;s offense comes through rolling to the basket or alley-oops, eerily similar to <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/robinmi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mitchell Robinson<\/a>. He has safe hands, and is a far better free-throw shooter, shooting over 64.7% in the 2023-24 season.<\/p>\n<h3>Role on the Knicks<\/h3>\n<p>Is it far-fetched to say Nnaji could be the Knicks&#8217; backup center until <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2018\/06\/20\/mitchell-robinson-nba-draft-profile\/\" target=\"_self\">Robinson<\/a> comes back? Nnaji turned 20 just 50 days ago and gives the Knicks an elite physical prospect on a pennies contract. The Knicks have the opportunity to develop him and make him a valuable contributor for this year and years to come. Unless <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/simsje01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jericho Sims<\/a> can somehow achieve a new level, Nnaji starts the season over him on the depth chart.<\/p>\n<p>Nnaji is a better physical prospect than <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/achiupr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Precious Achiuwa<\/a> and gives the Knicks a better shot at holding up against the elite bigs in the Eastern Conference. His size makes him a better offensive player than <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/07\/31\/precious-achiuwa-role-on-the-new-look-knicks\/\" target=\"_self\">Achiuwa<\/a>, and he might be a better defender as the season goes him.<\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word on James Nnaji<\/h3>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the most intriguing question surrounding this young man. Depending on his showing this preseason, is there any chance he will become a starter this season? He gives the Knicks a big in the interior, similar to Minnesota&#8217;s Twin Towers lineup with KAT and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/goberru01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rudy Gobert<\/a>. KAT can run the four, while Nnaji plays the five. Furthermore, the Knicks guards and wings are far better three-point shooters than the ones Minnesota had last season.\u00a0But, no matter what happens, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/29\/knicks-do-it-all-sixth-man-candidate-josh-hart-deserves-more-respect\/\" target=\"_self\">Knicks<\/a> have gotten a steal in this trade. KAT is easily the best player in the trade, but don&#8217;t be surprised if Nnaji becomes an elite role player for the Knicks. How do <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/07\/the-new-york-knicks-have-the-best-bench-in-the-nba\/\" target=\"_self\">Leon Rose<\/a> and Brock Aller do this?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Karl-Anthony Towns trade shook the NBA world to its core. While fans were divided on the benefit of this trade because of Towns&#8217; flaws, analysts and NBA media members have crowned this an awesome trade for the Knicks. The Knicks&#8217; title odds have improved drastically, and they are now considered one of the best [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5089,"featured_media":99400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,12],"tags":[4770,213,1712,1382],"class_list":["post-99034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-knicks","tag-james-nnaji","tag-karl-anthony-towns","tag-nba-rookies","tag-nba-trade"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5089"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}