Vanderbilt Basketball: Luke Kornet receives two-way NBA contract from the Knicks

After receiving a two-way contract from the New York Knicks, Luke Kornet could become the fourth player from Vanderbilt basketball currently in the NBA.

The New York Knicks and former Vanderbilt Commodore big man Luke Kornet agreed to a two-way contract on July 3. Kornet, who went undrafted in 2017, earned the deal after impressing the Knicks during the first few days of the Orlando Summer League. He was rated as the 69th best prospect in this year’s draft by Draft Express.

Kornet had a solid four-year career with the Commodores. The 7’1″ big man had his best season of his collegiate career this past season, averaging 13.2 points along with 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks a game. His performance earned him All-SEC and All-SEC Defensive honors.

Kornet is an interesting NBA prospect. Kornet has the ability to stretch the floor and is a solid rim protector. He made a career-best 53 three-pointers in 2016 to go along with 71 blocks. Kornet has only shot over 35% from beyond the arc once (2014-15) and is a career 32.0% long-range shooter.

An issue with Kornet is that while he is capable of providing rim protection at the NBA level, he is not a strong individual defender. Kornet is not very mobile and he struggles with physical post players. He is an average to slightly below average defensive rebounder and is not a factor on the offensive boards. Last year, he had an offensive rebounding percentage of just 5.9%

It is way too early in the process to tell if Kornet will ever play an NBA game. Kornet has the pedigree, his father Frank played two years in the NBA, and he is in the right situation with the Knicks, but that can only take you so far.

The Knicks appear ready to go into total rebuild mode, although they still have some big salaries on the books. They have taken a chance before with Thanasis Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo, the brother of Milwaukee Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo, appeared in two games for the Knicks in his career.

If Kornet performs well with the G-League’s Westchester Knicks, he could get a chance with the team. His best chance to get a NBA shot will likely be after the trade deadline as the Knicks will probably be out of the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Knicks will also most likely will be looking to dump salary.

The key for Kornet will be knocking down shots. Kornet doesn’t provide much other than shot-blocking and shooting. During his four seasons at Vanderbilt, nearly half his shots were three-point attempts. As a result, Kornet shot just 41.7% from the floor.

Kornet did show a glimpse of his shooting promise in five Orlando Summer League games. Kornet averaged 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while shooting 37.5% from long distance. He scored in double figures in two of the five games. His best game came in win over the Heat on July 6, where he tallied 10 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists, and three blocks.

Vanderbilt did not experience much basketball success in the early years of the program. However, things started to turn around for the Commodores after C.M. Newton took over the program in 1981-82. Since Newton took over the program, Vanderbilt has compiled a 655-479 overall record. The Commodores have made 13 NCAA tournament and 12 NIT appearances during this span.

In addition, 16 of Vandy’s 23 players ever drafted in the NBA occurred after the start of the 1982 campaign. Three Commodore players are currently playing in the NBA, including 2016 first round draft pick Wade Baldwin IV. DeMarre Carroll (played two seasons prior to playing at Missouri) and Damian Jones are the other Vandy players who are on NBA rosters.

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