Rumors: Detroit Pistons could have interest in New York Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina

Evaluating Frank Ntilikina

Ntilikina, 21, is entering his third season in the NBA. His first two were seasons to forget as he has a career 6.7 Player Efficiency Rating (league average is 15 PER) and a 43 percent true shooting percentage.

He was the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft because he projects as a two-way player. That hasn’t changed since he stands 6-foot-6 and has a 7-foot-1 wingspan. That screams of being a defensive menace and is reason to believe he can have a future in the NBA, even if it’s a niche role.

Pistons coach Dwane Casey has been big on developing players. That’s been his mantra since arriving in Detroit, as evident by drafting Sekou Doumbouya 15th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. Doumbouya and Ntilikina are both from France, which is reason enough to draw conclusions about Detroit’s interest.

Aside from a weak first two seasons, Ntilikina showed encouraging signs during the 2019 FIBA World Cup. He averaged 8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1 steal per game in 19.5 minutes per game over eight contests. He also showed improved shooting numbers with a line of .436/.333/.889.

He seems to have an improved shooting stroke that should allow him to hit 3-pointers at a respectable margin, especially if he’s left with as much space as he was in the World Cup.

Ntilikina has been a decent enough playmaker on offense with a 19.8 career assist rate. His assist-to-turnover ratio bumped up from 1.91 to 2.16 from his rookie to sophomore seasons. His ability to use his athleticism in pick-and-roll scenarios should be attractive to the Pistons with the big men they have.

There are plenty of holes in Ntilikina’s game offensively but he’s still young and projects to being a two-way point guard. Perhaps the World Cup provides a revival of his career and the Pistons development team could give him the skills he needs to blossom into a solid NBA player.

Let’s take a look at how the Pistons could acquire him.