Ariel Hukporti asked his friend Isaiah Hartenstein two things: advice about playing for the Knicks and the No. 55 jersey.
Hukporti, a 7-foot center and second-round draft pick, got both.
“He’s been saying, ‘Bring energy to the table, play a lot of defense and rebounding, keep your game simple and don’t complicate it,'” Hukporti said. “Listen to everything coach says defensively. Make sure you’re adaptable and all that.”
Hukporti and Hartenstein became friends in their native Germany.
There was a chance they would have played together in New York, but Hartenstein agreed to a three-year, $87 million contract with the Thunder a week after the draft.
“I [we were going to be teammates]but I saw the money,” Hukporti said.
Hukporti, who had six points and five rebounds in 17 minutes on Saturday, said he will continue to seek advice from Hartenstein.
Meanwhile, the Knicks still have a hole at backup center.
“I feel like I just need to get a little bit more comfortable with the game,” Hukporti said, “make the right reads and get into the system a little bit more. I think I can definitely adjust.”
First-round draft pick Pacome Dadiet said his poor shooting performance on Saturday (he made 2 of 8 3-point attempts, missing two) was at least partially due to the NBA’s 3-point line being slightly longer than it is in Europe.
“I think I need to work a bit harder,” said the 18-year-old Frenchman, who was placed 25th overall.
Another big issue for Dadiette was the pace of the game.
“I definitely felt it was different. It was a lot faster than in Europe,” he said. “Everything is different. Not just the conditioning, but the way you find your position on the court. Everything is just so much faster. You have to make decisions faster.”
After a tough start, Dadiette played better in the second half.
Rokas Jokuvaitis had the least amount of time to prepare for the summer league opener.
While the 2021 second-round draft pick’s teammates were working out at the Knicks’ facility, Jokuvaitis was playing for Lithuania in Olympic qualifying matches.
The point guard then recorded eight points in just 14 minutes against the Hornets.
“He trained with our team over the summer, but it was a short time, so he’s learning things on the fly as he gets acclimated,” assistant coach Dais Yoshimoto said. “The game is a little different in FIBA and the NBA, and I’m sure he’ll get better.”
