When scouting, you never know where you’ll find NBA talent.
In the Knicks’ case, that includes other teams’ coaching staffs.
In perhaps the “LOL” moment of the 2024 NBA Draft, the Knicks acquired the draft rights to Petteri Koponen as part of a trade to acquire international center Ariel Hukporti.
There is just one issue regarding the availability of Koponent. He was recently named coach of the Spurs’ summer league team..
“I’m honored by the @nyknicks but I intend to keep my commitment to the @spurs,” Kopnonen said. He wrote in a quoted tweet When the Mavericks announced the deal, he said: “Obviously, a financially outrageous offer could change things. Plus, I got a new hip! I’m ready to go!”
Perhaps the Knicks truly see potential in the 36-year-old Finnish prospect, but this appears to simply be a trade tactic to balance the deal.
The full deal between the Mavericks and Knicks included Dallas acquiring the draft rights to French prospect Melvin Ajinca with the 51st pick in exchange for the draft rights and cash considerations of Kukporti and Koponen.
While it would be understandable for the Knicks to acquire the draft rights of a 2024 prospect, Koponent’s draft rights go all the way back to the 2007 draft, which actually goes all the way back to 2004, so that’s an entirely different story.
Looking at the names involved, we can take a look back at history.
In 2004, the Mavericks traded their 2007 first-round draft pick to the Warriors in a deal that also included former Duke University star Christian Laettner.
A year later, the Warriors sent that pick to the Nuggets, who then sent it to the 76ers to acquire Allen Iverson.
Right there, there are some NCAA and NBA legends associated with this prospect.
The 76ers drafted Koponen with their last pick of the first round in 2007, but he was traded to Portland in exchange for second-round pick Derrick Byers and cash.
Four years later, the Trail Blazers dealt him to Dallas in a three-way trade that also included Raymond Felton.
Koponen never played for the Mavericks, but Dallas held his draft rights for 13 years (yes, 13 years!) before sending him to the Knicks.
According to Finnish media outlet Itareti, the 6ft 4in guard had already switched to coaching two years ago after finishing his international playing career with the Helsinki Seagulls in 2022.
He was also a veteran of the Finnish national team.
Koponen told the outlet he was grateful that Spurs called him in April and that they had worked to bring European talent into the squad throughout the year.
There’s no word yet on whether the Knicks will make Koponen an offer he can’t refuse, but that seems unlikely considering he didn’t play at Villanova.
