{"id":2882,"date":"2026-06-24T21:37:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T21:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2882"},"modified":"2026-06-24T21:37:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T21:37:40","slug":"meet-melvin-ajinca-the-21-year-old-euro-stash-knicks-got-in-massive-draft-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2882","title":{"rendered":"Meet Melvin Ajinca, the 21-year-old Euro stash Knicks got in massive draft trade"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Knicks are taking a swing on another French wing.<\/p>\n

As part of a wide-ranging four-team deal involving the Mavericks, Suns and Lakers that sent New York\u2019s No. 24 pick to Los Angeles, the Knicks acquired the rights to Melvin Ajinca from Dallas.<\/p>\n

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The 6-foot-8 forward was selected No. 51 overall by the Knicks in 2024 before being dealt to the Mavericks on draft night as part of the trade that brought Ariel Hukporti to the Big Apple.<\/p>\n

Now, after two more years overseas, Ajinca, who turns 22 on Friday, is a part of the franchise again.<\/p>\n

Ajinca, who was touted for his shooting and 3-and-D potential during the draft process, averaged 6.0 points in 17.6 minutes per game during EuroLeague play last season for LDLC Asvel.<\/p>\n

He first jumped onto the NBA radar during the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup, where he averaged 19.3 points and helped lead France to the gold medal game.<\/p>\n

In the deal for Ajinca, the Knicks also acquired the No. 47 pick in this week\u2019s draft and four additional future second-round picks.<\/p>\n

The Lakers used the No. 24 pick on Baylor guard Cameron Carr.<\/p>\n

The Ajinca acquisition adds to what has become a growing collection of young French players for the Knicks.<\/p>\n

Read more Mamdani-backed Dem led radical anti-Israel group that demanded \u2018total eradication of Western civilization\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2024, the Knicks selected Pac\u00f4me Dadiet with the 25th overall pick out of France. Dadiet has appeared in 47 games over two seasons as a developmental wing.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

During last year\u2019s draft, the Knicks took Mohamed Diawara in the late second round, a move that quickly paid dividends with the Paris native logging 69 games while averaging 3.6 points and shooting 37 percent from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n

Diawara\u2019s play earned him a multiyear deal worth more than $10 million with the Knicks earlier this week.<\/p>\n

The Knicks\u2019 main goal during draft was to trade off their draft picks to avoid going over the second apron with additional salaries for rookies.<\/p>\n

So, there is no guarantee Ajinca will ever join the team but he has now appeared on their draft radar twice in three years.<\/p>\n

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As part of a wide-ranging four-team deal involving the Mavericks, Suns and Lakers that sent New York\u2019s No. 24 pick to Los Angeles, the Knicks acquired the rights to Melvin Ajinca from Dallas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-new-york-knicks"],"yoast_head":"\nMeet Melvin Ajinca, the 21-year-old Euro stash Knicks got in massive draft trade - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2882\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet Melvin Ajinca, the 21-year-old Euro stash Knicks got in massive draft trade - 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