Although the New York Knicks didn't have a draft pick this year, they still were able to sign a rookie this offseason. The Knicks signed undrafted rookie free agent Ron Baker according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The deal is partially guaranteed. This deal happened very quickly after the final pick of the draft had been announced. Many expected Baker to go undrafted or be a late second round pick. If he was to go undrafted, which he ended up doing, many projected him as one of the top UDFA's on the market. Baker's teammate at Wichita State, Fred VanVleet, also went undrafted but inked a summer league deal with the Toronto Raptors. He will also be joining his ex-Wichita teammate Cleanthony Early in New York. 

Shooting guard depth for the Knicks in his future?

Baker will have to prove he can play in the NBA (Photo credit : Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports)
Baker will have to prove he can play in the NBA (Photo credit : Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports)

Baker brings a lot of talent that could impress an NBA team in giving him a roster spot and could help him see minutes on the floor. Baker shoots the three very well (he shot 35% from beyond the arc and 42% from the field) and was a top scorer for Wichita State, averaging 14 points per game for the Shockers. He can also play his fair share of defense. 

The Knicks situation at the two guard is complicated. As of right now, Justin Holiday will be the starting shooting guard for New York. That shouldn't be much of a confident booster. Holiday is a good player but he's not going to get a lot of minutes based on what he has shown in the league so far. That is where Baker comes in. If he impresses well during summer league and training camp, head coach Jeff Hornaceck could use Baker off the bench and he could see some significant minutes off the bench. That is assuming that the Knicks don't go after a shooting guard in free agency, something that is a big if. 

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About the author
Vijay Vemu
Vijay is a sports journalist who covers mainly the NBA and soccer. He is a credential reporter on the Chicago Fire and also covers NBA for VAVEL as well. He is also a editor for Mash Chicago, the publication of the Chicago Tribune. He is also a contributor at SB Nation's Blog A Bull and Big East Coast Bias as well as writing on European Soccer as well. He plans on attending the University of Illnois at Chicago (UIC) in the fall with a major in computer science. You can follow him on Twitter : @VJVemu