Signing reached! Doncic, the No. 9 pick in the same draft, finally returned to the NBA

Can you believe it? Before today, Kevin Knox, who was the same 2018 lottery pick as Luka Doncic, had no ball to play with! It was not until today that he was successfully signed by the Chicago Bulls that the ninth overall forward in the first round of 2018 was able to return to the NBA and continue his career.

On October 9, according to NBA reporter Michael Scotto, the Chicago Bulls have reached a signing agreement with the No. 9 pick in the 2018 first round, forward Kevin Knox. At this point, this means that Knox, who is only 26 years old, will start his eighth season in Chicago.

Kevin Knox can be said to be very lucky to get an NBA contract as the new regular season is about to start! After all, Russell Westbrook, the league's all-time triple-double king, is still without the ball. And he, a role player who has never been very popular in his career, is extremely lucky to get a new contract and return to the NBA. This is really thankful to God!

In the 2024-25 season, Kevin Knox played 14 regular season games on behalf of the Golden State Warriors, averaging 6 minutes per game. He could contribute 3.3 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.1 steals and 0.3 blocks. He shot 50% from the field, 26.7% from the three-point range, and 75% from the free throw line. Although the Warriors extended Kevin Knox's contract until the end of the season last season, his dispensable performance on the court ultimately failed to get the Warriors to renew his contract. Therefore, Kevin Knox became a completely free agent this offseason, and was successfully signed by the Chicago Bulls today!

Since entering the NBA in 2018, Knox has played for the New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors in his seven-year NBA career. During this period, Knox played a total of 320 regular season games, averaging 17.5 minutes per game, contributing 7.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.3 blocks. He shot 39.3% from the field, 34% from the three-point range, and 72.3% from the free throw line. In 8 playoff games, he averaged 6.4 minutes per game, scoring 5.6 points, 1.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks. He shot 48.4% from the field, 43.8% from the three-point range, and 88.9% from the free throw line.

It can be seen from Kevin Knox's personal data that his career development has been very unsuccessful! Except for his rookie season when he averaged 12.8 points per game with the Knicks, he averaged single digits in the rest of his seasons. Since his performance on the court is seriously inconsistent with his status as a lottery pick, this has led to him being homeless in the past few years! Just imagine, if the Bulls hadn't extended an olive branch to him at this time, then the forward No. 9 overall pick in 2018 would most likely have been in an embarrassing state without a ball to play in the new season.

Frankly speaking, the 2018 rookie class actually has a very high success rate! The top pick, Luka Doncic, has now become one of the top five superstars in the league; the fourth pick, Jaren Jackson Jr., has the potential to replace Ja Morant as the Grizzlies star; the fifth pick, Trae Young, has already entered the ranks of the league's top guards; the tenth pick, Mikal Bridges, has become the league's top 3D player; the eleventh pick, Alexander, not only won the regular season MVP last season, but also led the Thunder to win the first NBA championship trophy in team history! Even Jaylen Brunson, the 33rd pick in the second round, has already completed a magnificent turn and is now firmly in the top spot of the Knicks. But Kevin Knox, the No. 9 pick in the 2018 class, has never been able to fulfill his talent and become an NBA star, which is very disappointing!