The New York Knicks announced on Tuesday that former Arizona Wildcats guard Allonzo Trier officially signed a two-way contract with the franchise.
Welcome to the family @IDHicks and @ISO_ZO ๐ค #NewYorkForever pic.twitter.com/GT3Mfi0FO7
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Trier departed early to the NBA after three seasons at UA, but went undrafted and agreed to a two-way deal with the Knicks on draft night. Just before NBA Summer League begins in Las Vegas, Trier put ink to paper for a two-way contract.
Trierโs agent, James Dunleavy, told the Star via text message after the draft that Trier had "multiple two-way offers elsewhere."
โBut we felt New York was the best fit for him and they showed the most interest of anyone during the pre-draft process, so going undrafted and signing with them was the best option for him,โ Dunleavy said. โHeโs excited to get to New York and show them what heโs capable of.โ
Dunleavy said New York strongly considered drafting Trier at No. 36, though they opted for a big man in Mitchell Robinson instead.
Per NBA policy, teams are allowed to have two two-way players on the bench along with the set 15-man regular season roster at any time during the year. However, most of the player's time during the season is with the franchise's G-League team, and the player can't spend more than 45 days at a time with the NBA team.
In this case for Trier, he would play for the Westchester Knicks and would also be called up to play for New York periodically throughout the season. Two-way players will earn $75,000 in the 2018-19 season with G League teams, whileย the NBA rookie minimum salary, distributed for the days with their NBA team, could potentially give Trier $385,000 next season.
This is a similar deal to ex-Wildcat and Boston Celtics guard Kadeem Allen, who was drafted in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft. Allen signed a two-way deal and played most of his rookie season with the Maine Red Claws. Allen scored a single game career-high 46 points in Maine, which was the fourth best scoring performance in the team's history, and appeared in 18 games with the Celtics.
Trier will make his debut with the Knicks in NBA Summer League on Saturday, against the Atlanta Hawks at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN. The full schedule of the Arizona Wildcats in summer league can be viewed here.
