John Shurna Signs With New York Knicks

Howard Beck of the New York Times tweets the preposterously amazing news that John Shurna has signed a one-year, partially-guaranteed contract with the New York Knicks. Cogent analysis will begin in two paragraphs.

OMG OMG OMG FREAKING OUT JOHN SHURNA SIGNED WITH THE KNICKS WOOO OMG GO NEW YORK GO NEW YORK GO WOOOOOOOOOO

Shurna went undrafted after setting the record for most career points and blocks at Northwestern and then underwhelmed on the Hawks Summer League. However, I personally have long contended that Shurna would be a good fit for an NBA team in need of a shooter, specifically, I wrote about why the Knicks should draft him over at SBN's Posting and Toasting back in June. The Knicks already have a shooter - one of the league's best, err, the league's best, in Steve Novak - but Shurna can also score off the dribble to a certain extent and is a cerebral player who can be a fit on any team. Hold on give me a second here (breathes into oxygen mask)

THE KNICKS SIGNED SOMEBODY FROM NORTHWESTERN HOLY CRAP YOU GUYS WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I would normally sign this off as training camp fodder, but the deal is partially guaranteed, meaning a New York team already pressed up against the salary cap would have something to lose should they cut him. By my count, the Knicks have 13 players under guaranteed contract, as well as Chris Copeland and Chris Smith, both of whom have non-guaranteed contracts and the latter of whom seems to be just on the team because he is J.R. Smith's brother. That gives him a good shot of at least making cuts and entering the team on the roster of my favorite team. "Partially guaranteed" typically means he'll earn a full guarantee if he hangs on through a certain date a bit before midseason if I remember correctly. (Update: Ian Begley of ESPN New York explains that Shurna's deal becomes fully guaranteed if he's still on the roster Jan. 10.)

Northwestern hasn't had an NBA player since Evan Eschmeyer left the league in 2003, so this is big news considering I figured Shurna would be headed for the D-League or Europe.

I'll just go ahead and order a John Shurna Knicks jersey right now, because duh.

(note: in case you didn't realize this, I've been a Knicks fan since I was four years old. I don't think I had ever *heard* of Northwestern before I was 16. This is a big deal.)