A day after he turned 20 years old, Melvin Ajinca celebrated by becoming the newest member of the Dallas Mavericks.
A product of Saint-Quentin in France’s top league, Ajinca was chosen Thursday by the New York Knicks in the second round of the NBA Draft with the 51st overall pick. The Mavs then acquired his draft rights from the Knicks in exchange for Ariel Hukporti, the rights to Petteri Koponen and cash considerations.
The Mavs drafted Koponen with the 30th overall pick of the 2007 draft, and they selected Hukporti with the 58th and last pick of Thursday’s draft.
A 6-8, 214-pound small forward, Ajinca was chosen to France’s under-19 basketball team and eventually played in the 2023 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup. He also was named to the All-Tournament second team after averaging 19.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game as France won the silver medal after losing to Spain in the championship game.
Mavs general manager Nico Harrison gave Ajinca a glowing review, while repeatedly expressing a fondness for his athleticism.
“He’s 6-8, athletic, he can shoot, he’s a 3-and-d, he’s young — huge upside,” Harrison said. “We just like the way he plays.
“He can finish at the rim, he can shoot it, and he can defend. He’s just young. He’s still developing. If you think of your typical athletic 3-and-d wing, that’s what I would kind of put 
him as.”
Harrison said Ajinca will be on the Mavs’ roster that will participate in the summer league in Las Vegas, which starts on July 12. As to whether Ajinca will be a part of the Mavs’ final roster, a two-way player or a candidate to play on the team’s G League squad next season, Harrison said: “I think the beauty of him being a European player is we have a lot of optionality and I think both things are on the table. We don’t have a lot of roster spots available.
“So, I think that’s the beauty of his age — and the fact that he is playing in Europe – that we can kind of figure it out.”
Ajinca started his basketball career in 2019 with Paris’ Centre Federal de Basket-ball of the Nationale Masculine 1 league. He later signed with Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball of the LNB Pro B in 2022, where he averaged 8.5 points, shot 52.9 percent from the floor and 39.4 percent from three-point range in 33 games and was voted the Best Young Player in Pro B as his team earned a promotion to the first tier LNB Pro A in his first season.
In the LNB Pro A, Ajinca averaged 9.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in 30 games while shooting 48.1 percent from the field.
When asked if he gave Ajinca any advice when he spoke to him Thursday, Harrison said: “I haven’t given him any advice. I just told him we’re excited — excited to get him in. And he said we’re ready to go, and he thanked us.
“(He’s a) great kid. He speaks amazing English and he’s really excited, so we’re excited as well.”
Ajinca joins a large list of players from France who made a huge mark in this year’s draft. France had the top two picks in the draft: the No. 1 selection, Zaccharie Risacher, going to the Atlanta Hawks, and the No. 2 pick, Alexandre Sarr, headed to the Washington Wizards.
Also from France, Tidjane Salaun, was chosen No. 6 overall by Charlotte, while Pacome Dadiet was selected No. 25 overall by New York. Harrison believes the groundswell of players from France being attracted to basketball stems from France guard Tony Parker, who enjoyed a star-studded career with the San Antonio Spurs from 2001-18 that included six All-Star appearances and four NBA championships.
“I think if you look at the Tony Parkers of the world, I think that kind of started it,” Harrison said. “If you’ve been to France at all the last few years they have a huge basketball culture.
“You feel like you’re at (New York’s) Rucker Park. So, the basketball culture is really prevalent over there, and I think the young kids are gravitating toward it.”
Ajinca, a cousin of former Mavs Alexis Ajinca, sure gravitated toward basketball and it’s paying off.
“He just turned 20 years old, he’s athletic, he can shoot the ball, and those types of players and positions are valuable,” Harrison said. “He has a chance to be really good. We’re excited about the opportunity.
“We were pleasantly surprised that Melvin was even available when he was. When we saw the opportunity for us move up a couple of spots, we did.”
Lindsey joined the Pistons
Dennis Lindsey has left his role as a Mavs senior adviser to become the senior vice-president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons. Lindsey was with the Mavs for the 2023-24 season.
“The good thing about Dennis is he has a lot of history,” Mavs general manager Nico Harrison said. “He’s been in a lot of elite positions. He’s been the lead executive for three different teams.
“He has a lot of history. His experience has been great. I learned a lot from him. More importantly, he’s a friend. He’s someone I can go to for advice, and vice versa. That’s actually not going to change. We just won’t be talking about our respective teams.”
X: @DwainPrice
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