Nigerian insider King Kong hopes to join the Knicks this summer. Will he get a contract?

According to New York Post reporter Jared Schwartz, inside player James Nnaji from Nigeria will leave Europe this summer and focus on signing a contract with the New York Knicks in the NBA. According to his agent Gerard Raventos, Najib is currently in New York and is working on a trial for the Knicks, and he will also represent the Knicks in the NBA Summer League next time. Najib has excellent physical conditions and hopes to be recognized by the Knicks uniforms through his performance in the summer league and get the chance to sign.

Nagi was born in August 2004 and is 19 years old. He is 211cm tall and weighs 113kg. He is an inside player with excellent physical talent. In the 2023 NBA Draft, Najib was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 31st pick in the second round. Although he has been playing for La Liga giants Barcelona, ​​Najib cannot get a stable playing time at Barcelona. This season, Najib has been loaned to another La Liga team, Girona and Turkish League team, Merkezefendi. In this season's La Liga, Najib played 14 times for Girona, averaging 16.2 minutes per game, with averaging 5.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 0.6 steals and 0.8 blocks, and 1.1 turnovers and 1.8 fouls, with a shooting percentage of 75.7% and a free throw percentage of 48.6%. In the Turkish Premier League this season, Najib played 8 times in total, with averaging 16.5 minutes per game, averaging 7.5 points, 4 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.4 steals and 1.2 blocks, and 0.8 turnovers and 2.4 fouls, with a shooting percentage of 64.9% and a free throw percentage of 57.1%.

Nagi also represented the Hornets in the NBA Summer League in the summer of 2023. He played 6 games in the summer league, averaging 17.5 minutes per game, averaging 3.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 2 blocks, and 1.3 turnovers and 2.7 fouls, with a shooting percentage of 66.7% and a free throw percentage of 58.3%. Najib still has great highlights on the defensive end. He has excellent ability to protect the basket and compete for the front and back rebounds, but his contribution to the offensive end is very limited, his skills are quite rough, and it seems that it will be difficult for him to become a qualified player on the offensive end in the future. In addition, his performance in European arenas has not improved significantly in recent seasons, and Najib has never been able to sign with NBA teams.

In a big deal involving Karl-Anthony Towns last summer, the Hornets sent Najib's NBA signing rights to the New York Knicks, but the Knicks did not give Najib a contract last summer. From the Knicks’ point of view, they also need to add some reliable base-paying players to the bench, given their total salary is quite amazing. Signing Najib with a basic salary may also be a good thing for the Knicks' salary space. But the biggest question right now is whether Najib's ability meets the standards of a qualified NBA player, and can his performance in the summer league be recognized by the Knicks uniform group?