In an official press release, the New York Knicks announced that they're exercising their third-year option on point guard Frank Ntilikina. This shouldn't come as a surprise as the 20-year-old Frenchman just completed his rookie season after being selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

After the Knicks picked up their team option, Ntilikina will be paid $4.9 million in 2018-19. Ntilikina will have to prove himself again next season for New York to pick up his option in 2019-20. If they do, he'll be paid $6.1 million that season.

Though Ntilikina wasn't as NBA ready as many would have liked — averaging 5.9 points, 3.2 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 21.9 minutes per game — he's still a player with elite physical tools (6-foot-5 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan) and natural talent needed to grow into an impact player.

Ntilikina did face some adversity in the 2017-18 season, with Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James seemingly criticizing the Knicks' selection of Ntilikina instead of Dallas Mavericks point guard Dennis Smith Jr. However, while James was being critical of the decision-making of former Knicks president of basketball operations Phil Jackson, New York and Ntilikina took the statement personally.

With Ntilikina drafted to run the triangle offense, it's important to remember that his skillset was expected to be that of a player who can thrive in that type of system: a smart player who can thrive off-ball and make a defensive impact. He's all of those things, especially with his ability able to knock down 36.1 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes as a rookie (per NBA Advanced Stats).