The New York Knicks made it to the second round of the NBA playoffs this past season, and will be looking to take another leap to join the shortlist of legitimate contenders to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
That journey began at Summer League, where a young guard showed starting potential, a talented project showed flashes of his upside and a weak position group showed promise. Still, the Knicks roster will look much different come the regular season. For all the highlights during Summer League, there are bound to be some overreactions too.
Tyler Kolek can be Knicks' starting point guard
Tyler Kolek was a second-round pick who put up an impressive performance in Summer League play. As a result, he could find himself in line for increased responsibilities as soon as the beginning of the upcoming season.
Kolek is a true point guard in every sense of the word, which makes him an intriguing fit in the Knicks’ starting lineup.
The Knicks are currently led by superstar combo guard Jalen Brunson. Brunson is one of the best pure scorers in the league, and he’s made impressive strides as a playmaker as well.
However, the Knicks' ideal lineup allows Brunson to focus on what he does best, which is putting the ball through the net and scoring points in bunches. Brunson can be a great secondary initiator, but he shouldn’t be the guy that his team relies on to set up teammates for scoring opportunities.
During Summer League play, Kolek did an impressive job of balancing playing aggressively and setting guys up with open looks without getting too out of control and forcing risky passes. It’s okay to turn the ball over sometimes as long as the benefits of taking chances outweigh the easy points you can give up on the other end. Teams don't want to be reckless, though, and Kolek understands that delicate balance.
Kolek has an advanced understanding of when to take chances and when to play the game safe. He also has great court vision and is able to anticipate where his teammates are going. He knows where his guy will go and what the defender will do, and he’s able to get the ball to his player in the ideal scoring position.
This means that his shooters catch the ball as soon as they are ready and they don’t have to wait for the past to arrive. Waiting only gives the defense an opportunity to recover and contest the shot.
Pacome Dadiet has upside but will be a project
Dadiet is a young, lengthy small forward oozing with upside, but he has a lot of work to do before he can be considered a legitimate NBA-caliber player.
The biggest thing that Dadiet needs to work on is his shooting. He has many other areas in which he can improve, but becoming a better shooter will help immensely in all of those areas.
He has tons of raw athleticism, but he needs to begin converting that into basketball skills. In one sense, the only way that he’ll develop these skills is through repetition, and in that regard, Summer League was an unmitigated success.
The performance wasn’t quite there, but the projection is. We don’t know what the future holds for Dadiet and it’s certainly possible that he doesn’t reach this ceiling. Yet, there is a projectable path forward for the young French wing where he emerges as a legitimate star in the years to come. That’s more than can be said for many NBA players.
With the benefit of hindsight, players such as Pascal Siakam and even Giannis Antetokounmpo had early career performances that look similar to what Dadiet showed in Summer League.
There may be hope at backup center
None of the Knicks' big men in Las Vegas were particularly impressive, but they also looked competent at a minimum, and didn’t completely appear as if they had no business being on the court.
Big men can have an challenging time in Summer League, where play is often dominated by guards. Typically, guards in Summer League are players on the roster bubble who aren’t great at creating looks for others. Furthermore, if the primary ball handlers are fighting for their own roster spots, the nature of competition can encourage them to play selfishly and call their own number as often as possible. This can make it difficult for big men to get actively involved offensively.
Similarly, though, big men who are capable defenders will often have plenty of shot blocking opportunities, because opposing guards will drive at them relentlessly. The big men on the Knicks Summer League roster held their own on the defensive end, and did what they could offensively with the opportunities that they were given.
While competence is admittedly a low bar to clear, the Knicks are pretty barren at center beyond Mitchell Robinson after losing Isaiah Hartenstein to the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency.
The team will need at least some production from young players on cheap contracts in order to prevent the center position from becoming an Achilles’ heel for the team.
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