Incredibly, Frank Ntilikina, the Knicks’ 2017 lottery pick, is now the team’s longest-tenured player, along with Damyean Dotson.
Ntilikina played like he wants to stay that way when he led the French National Team to a bronze medal in the FIBA World Cup earlier this month.
As the 6-6 point guard arrives from France later this week to gear up for his third Knicks training camp, which starts Monday, scouting guru Nick Hauselman put up a six-minute Ntilikina video Wednesday on his YouTube scouting channel.
It served as a rave review of the Frenchman’s performance that included outplaying Team USA’s point guard Kemba Walker in France’s stunning quarterfinal upset.
Hauselman told The Post his latest “BBallBreakdown” focused mostly on Ntilikina’s offensive exploits because it’s well-documented Ntilikina has shown to be “a great defender.”
“The big thing was his willingness to shoot the basketball from distance, and his ability to hit floaters was 1B,” Hauselman told The Post. “That’s something he had been terrible at. Suddenly he’s nailing those. He wasn’t passing up shots. It looked like that was changing with FIBA — catching and shooting, shooting off the dribble, being much more decisive.”
It’s been two trying, injury-riddled seasons for Ntilikina after being selected No. 8 overall in 2017 by former team president Phil Jackson. The Knicks have a decision to make in late October on whether to exercise the final season of his four-year rookie contract, worth $6.17 million.
Knicks GM Scott Perry has no career attachment to Ntilikina as he drafted De’Aaron Fox at No. 5 in that draft while working for Sacramento. With fellow 2017 lottery pick Dennis Smith Jr., the key piece of Perry’s Kristaps Porzingis deal, and newly signed Elfrid Payton, a former Perry lottery pick in Orlando, it’s no easy call.
Not after the World Cup. Hauselman saw Ntilikina “dribble cleaner” and believes this was a “transformative” performance. The 21-year-old Ntilikina averaged just 5.9 points on 35.4 percent shooting (30.5 percent from 3) in his first two Knicks seasons.
The scouting guru believes the tournament showing will have “a profound effect” on Ntilikina’s third NBA season and doesn’t discount the competition. Against Team USA, Ntilikina hit two clutch shots down the stretch and finished with 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting and three assists.
In eight contests, Ntilikina, hampered by a groin strain in 2018-19, shot 44 percent (33.3 percent from 3) and averaged eight points and 2.5 assists.
“There’s so many NBA players out there and he did well against Team USA,” Hauselman said. “I don’t want to temper it too much. They’re all good players. If he can do that skill against those guys, he should be able to do it in the NBA. Finishing with those floaters is the only question. NBA big men are bigger, faster, stronger. But shooting should be the same.”
As figured, Ntilikina will enter camp having not participated in any of the friendly scrimmages in which Knicks players participated the past month. He deserves the rest and sounded so confident speaking in his native tongue last week at a post-World cup press gathering in Paris.
“I am a complete player who has very good court vision, and a versatile player,” Ntilikina said, according to a translation produced by French Knicks Pod. “The next step is to transfer that to the NBA.
“I’m very happy to be a Knick, and I believe in the Steve Mills project. The last two seasons, it was very clear the goal was to play as much as possible the young players of the roster to develop them. This year, we will surprise the entire NBA, as I did with the French team at the World Cup.”
The Knicks have unsuccessfully attempted to peddle Ntilikina in the past for a draft pick, but the landscape could change on his trade value.
“He played like a pro,” said former Knicks/Charlotte European scout Tim Shea, a consultant on overseas talent. “He won’t be a superstar because he maybe isn’t fast enough, but he can defend the point. He got into Kemba’s head late.”
In his video montage, Hauselman showed just one clip of Ntilikina’s defense because of his established reputation on that end of the floor.
“He keeps guys in front,” Hauselman said. “That will always be there and he has that mindset, which is nice.”
The skeptics will remain. Ntilikina did go scoreless against Lithuania. One NBA scout who worked the World Cup noted, “He looked good, but this is still international play – less space and slower pace than the NBA.”
Ntilikina knows he’s got lots more to prove.
“I’m motivated, determined to succeed with the Knicks jersey,” Ntilikina said. “Being, at this moment, the one who wears the jersey since the longest time on the roster is a responsibility.”