Knicks MAKE A TRADE! Westchester Acquires Legit 3-Point Shooter... | Knicks News | The Knicks Recap Podcast

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

Football is back, and this is Believe, your home for NFL and college football news and analysis all season long. Now, let's start the show.

SPEAKER_2 (0:13)

The Knicks just made a move for its G-League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, acquiring the rights to a six foot five wing and a three point threat. We're gonna break down all of these latest reports today.

This episode is presented by FanDuel. We have a goal of trying to reach 50,000 subscribers, and we could really use your support. If you enjoy Daily Knicks content, please hit that subscribe button.

And now, let's get started.

Westchester Knicks trade for a legit shooter. The Knicks finally made a trade, but I need to clarify once again. This trade was for their G-League team, the Westchester Knicks, not the main team. But as we saw a few years ago with Landry Shamit, moves in the G-League do matter, and the Knicks just acquired a legit three-point shooter. Shout out to the Westchester Knicks on the AppX for giving us this following information. According to them, the Westchester Knicks have acquired the returning player rights to guard slash forward Mitchell Mascari from the Stockton Kings in exchange for the returning player rights to Vincas De Silva and their future first-round pick via Cleveland in the NBA G-League draft.

Not to mention, Mitchell Mascari went 7-for-9 from three against the Westchester Knicks this past January. That's showing you how good this kid is from three. And New York, they just traded for him.

And this is the official trade details. And you see the Westchester Knicks issue a welcome message to the newest Westchester Knick, Mitchell Mascari.

Anytime you can add a shooter like Mitchell Mascari, you do it. This kid is legit. He shot 40.9% from three last season in the G-League with the Kings. 40.9% from three. That is a legit three-point shooter that the Westchester Knicks just acquired. And he's 6'5.

He's a true wing. Just look at what this kid can do.

Roll his highlights. Mitchell Mascari is a former Division II standout. He finished his college career at Drake before going undrafted. The 6'5 wing hasn't produced eye-popping stats as of last season, but has the shooting prowess to become a valuable piece. Mascari averaged 8.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game last season with the Stockton Kings, shooting 42.6% from the field and 41% from beyond the arc. Amazing shooting numbers. Mitchell Mascari's journey to professional basketball has been notably different from most other players in the NBA or even the G-League. The 6'5 wing, who is now 26 years old, spent most of his college career at Division II Northwest Missouri State, playing alongside potential 2026 first round pick, Benedict Sturitz. Mascari redshirted as a freshman before gradually becoming one of the Bearcats, key pieces over the next four seasons. When head coach Ben McCollum, who's now coaching in Iowa, made the jump from Division II to Drake, Mascari joined him. During his sixth and final season of college basketball, yes, that's right, this kid played six seasons of college level ball. He averaged 9.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.4 steals, while shooting 39% from the field and 40.2% from three-point range on 6.2 attempts per game. That's crazy efficient. He went undrafted last year, but found the role with the Sacramento Kings G-League team, the Stockton Kings. Now the 26-year-old looks to continue his remarkable journey into the NBA by joining the Westchester Knicks. While Mascari has a long way to go before reaching that point, the second-year wing clearly has valuable skills that could help a number of teams across the league, including New York. With more development, Mascari's size and perimeter shooting prowess could be enough to earn the former All-Missouri Valley Conference honoree a spot in the NBA.

I know for some of you, this move for the Westchester Knicks, it really doesn't matter to you. You want to see moves made for the main team. Well, so do I. However, anytime you can add a player like this, a legit 3-point shooter, you need to do it. You need to make the move. And I'm happy the Westchester Knicks did this. He is going to light up the G-League. And you never know, if he plays well and does an amazing job in the G-League, who knows what his future could hold. The only thing holding him back just a little bit is his age. He did play six years of college ball. He did go undrafted last year and went to the Kings. But being 26 years old, in your second year in the league, with really no NBA action to speak of, that's a lot to take in. He may be a great shooter, but at 26 years old, he still needs more development. Especially defensively, he needs to understand how to read the floor better. What pass is to make? If he's trapped to give up the ball versus forcing a shot, forcing up an ill-timed three. These are the things he needs to work on. And I believe, given his mindset and how hard this kid works, he will get there. The only question is, how old will he be when he puts it all together? At 26 years old, the only thing holding him back at this point is time, opportunity, and his age. But if he can overcome that, which, by the way, not many players can, but if he can do that, it will speak volumes to him, his work ethic, and how much he can do in the NBA, at the NBA level. His shooting, it's already needed by multiple NBA teams. If he can put the rest together, he can be a very good bench piece for a number of NBA teams. And with New York, this is what they need to do.