RealGM

Announced along with Elleby, so likely another Exhibit 10 who will spend the year in Iowa

Last year was interested in him being in the PF rotation due to size and thought he was decent shooter in college.

Luka has a ton of offensive skills. He's not super fast, but it wouldn't surprise me if he beat out Knight. Both are probably AAAA players (too good for G League, not good enough for NBA).

I’m a Hawkeye, so I’m happy to see Luka continue his basketball career, particularly here. I watched many of his games, and he has size and excellent shooting touch for three pointers, but as expected, his slow-footedness really hurts his ability to succeed at the NBA level.

The thing that people miss about Luka is that he will outwork everyone on the court. Seriously. His freshman college season he was a little overweight, and his dad (a former college player himself), took over and gave him two-a-days and three-a-days. This fitness is remarkable for a player his size. He always SPRINTED back after every change of possession, even made baskets, and this often led to easy baskets, particularly in the second half when lighter guys who had played less minutes became gassed. He was a second rounder, but his energy is probably what got him a guaranteed contract after DET watched him play his first Summer League game.

As National Player of the Year, he was often unstoppable by college teams who couldn’t match his size, stamina, or three point shooting. He was such a good scorer that Keegan Murray spent his first year doing everything he could to be a great supporting player, which helped him tremendously. Anyway, I suspect he will never be a regular NBA player, but he should be a big attraction, dominating for the Iowa Wolves. He has an outside chance of having a situational role for the Wolves, if he can really slim down even further.

And his horizontal eyebrows always remind me of Sam Eagle from the Muppets.

This is amazing! In my NBA 2K22, I simulated a season with the new roster and we won the championship in our first season lol! Then in year 2 I signed Luka Garza off the free agency pool mid season for dirt cheap, dude has been lights out from three off the bench, he's getting like 12 points a game with 4 3's every night in limited minutes, he's been big time.

In real life I felt like he had a ton of potential to be a good big in the NBA, I really liked his game in college and think it can translate to being a good role player at least. I really like this pick up, I hope he makes the team and can carve out a role. I didn't know Detroit cut ties with him already, so funny how this played out for real, I always wanted him on our team.

.. and his Iowa partner, Joe Wieskamp, signs a two year deal with the Spurs the same day.

I know this is probably crazy, but I feel like he could develop into a Isaiah Hartenstein caliber of reserve big

I like this signing, he could be a good offense/rebounding oriented big in the Enes Kanter mold, and if he can add a stretch aspect thats a bonus. Not great on defense but can he really be that much worse than Naz?
Will be interesting to see how long he stays in Iowa, some team may scoop him up after an injury.

I think we might regret giving Knight a roster spot, and we may see one or both of those 2-way spots change hands several times this year.

younggunsmn wrote:I like this signing, he could be a good offense/rebounding oriented big in the Enes Kanter mold, and if he can add a stretch aspect thats a bonus. Not great on defense but can he really be that much worse than Naz?
Will be interesting to see how long he stays in Iowa, some team may scoop him up after an injury.

I think we might regret giving Knight a roster spot, and we may see one or both of those 2-way spots change hands several times this year.

If Lawson proves summer league was real then he might well get a roster spot this year or next year. His defense is the big variable, but I have hope for him. I agree Knight is a bad signing, I would much rather have Paschall on the main roster and Knight as a two way. That said, Finch likes Knight and I trust Finch. The biggest variable for our roster come the trade deadline is whether we are players in the buy out market. If we are looking like top 3 in the west contenders, I could see Knight, or Forbes, or Rivers, or Prince, or even Naz moved and someone brought in as a buyout.

younggunsmn wrote:I like this signing, he could be a good offense/rebounding oriented big in the Enes Kanter mold, and if he can add a stretch aspect thats a bonus. Not great on defense but can he really be that much worse than Naz?
Will be interesting to see how long he stays in Iowa, some team may scoop him up after an injury.

I think we might regret giving Knight a roster spot, and we may see one or both of those 2-way spots change hands several times this year.

I still don’t get what Knight has done to earn his spot.

younggunsmn wrote:I like this signing, he could be a good offense/rebounding oriented big in the Enes Kanter mold, and if he can add a stretch aspect thats a bonus. Not great on defense but can he really be that much worse than Naz?
Will be interesting to see how long he stays in Iowa, some team may scoop him up after an injury.

I think we might regret giving Knight a roster spot, and we may see one or both of those 2-way spots change hands several times this year.

I regretted giving Knight a roster spot the second we did it.

From everything that I've seen in the weeks since, Knight hasn't been given anything. The last spot will be a competition. Sure Knight may have a leg up going in because of the contract which is probably due to having time in the organization last year, but his spot is hardly secured.

Klomp wrote:From everything that I've seen in the weeks since, Knight hasn't been given anything. The last spot will be a competition. Sure Knight may have a leg up going in because of the contract which is probably due to having time in the organization last year, but his spot is hardly secured.

I am no Knight fan, but I do think if he can develop a 34-36% 3 point percentage (especially from the corners,) he would have a much better chance of sticking in this league. I agree that the Luka signing has created competition for his spot. It will be interesting to see how Finch handles camp battles. Also worth noting it is exciting to have real camp battles among promising young players. Wish we had more of that in the past.

winforlose wrote:

Klomp wrote:From everything that I've seen in the weeks since, Knight hasn't been given anything. The last spot will be a competition. Sure Knight may have a leg up going in because of the contract which is probably due to having time in the organization last year, but his spot is hardly secured.

I am no Knight fan, but I do think if he can develop a 34-36% 3 point percentage (especially from the corners,) he would have a much better chance of sticking in this league. I agree that the Luka signing has created competition for his spot. It will be interesting to see how Finch handles camp battles. Also worth noting it is exciting to have real camp battles among promising young players. Wish we had more of that in the past.

15 and the two-ways have competition. There are a number of possible combinations for the final roster.

Bigs: Knight vs. Paschall vs. Garza
Swing forwards: Lawson vs. Elleby

Klomp wrote:

winforlose wrote:

Klomp wrote:From everything that I've seen in the weeks since, Knight hasn't been given anything. The last spot will be a competition. Sure Knight may have a leg up going in because of the contract which is probably due to having time in the organization last year, but his spot is hardly secured.

I am no Knight fan, but I do think if he can develop a 34-36% 3 point percentage (especially from the corners,) he would have a much better chance of sticking in this league. I agree that the Luka signing has created competition for his spot. It will be interesting to see how Finch handles camp battles. Also worth noting it is exciting to have real camp battles among promising young players. Wish we had more of that in the past.

15 and the two-ways have competition. There are a number of possible combinations for the final roster.

Bigs: Knight vs. Paschall vs. Garza
Swing forwards: Lawson vs. Elleby

Agree. I also think these results will be important when the buyout market opens. I have always believed depth matters, and it is nice to see a FO that agrees. I may not agree with every decision but I respect that they clearly are making decisions with an eye toward the future, and are trying to build it right.

He may not be one of the 15, but I think he may be solidifying a two-way spot. Lawson hasn't done much to my knowledge and Paschall has missed a few games so far. Finch talks about him like he's talked about Nathan Knight, who worked his way into a standard contract this summer.