The New York Knicks NBA Summer League roster had some intriguing players but only one actual Knicks draft pick (Trevor Keels, Round 2, 2022) from the last three years. That meant that undrafted players were going to get time to shine on this Knicks squad and shine they did. One of this offseason’s undrafted prospects, Jaylen Martin, looked good, but 2019 undrafted free agent Charlie Brown Jr. is the player who actually could make the team for the 2023-24 season.
Why the 2023-34 Knicks roster could include Charlie Brown Jr.
The Knicks didn’t make a pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, so it’s no surprise that the team had several undrafted players playing on its NBA Summer League squad. In fact, the top four scorers on the team in Vegas — DaQuan Jeffries, Charlie Brown Jr., Jaylen Martin, and QJ Peterson — were all undrafted players.
However, there can only be one player who is most likely to make the team, and that player is Charlie Brown Jr.
With all due respect to Jeffries and Peterson, the two biggest standouts on the Knicks’ NBA Summer League roster were Brown and Martin. Brown played 29 minutes per game over four games and averaged 19.8 points, 2.0 assists, 6.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 1.8 blocks, and shot 37.5% from 3-point range.
Martin was good, too. He put up 13.0 points, 3.3 assists, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.0 steals while shooting 28.6% from 3-point range.
Choosing between these two players to be on the Knicks roster in the coming NBA season would be simple if you just look at the numbers. Brown scored more, shot better from deep, and was better on defense. However, it’s not that simple for several reasons.
Brown is 26 years old. He played at St. Joseph’s in his hometown of Philadelphia before going undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft. He still made his pro debut that season, playing in 10 games for the Atlanta Hawks. In the next two seasons, Brown played 31 games for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, and Philadelphia 76ers. Last season he spent the entire year with the Sixers’ G League team, the Delaware Blue Coats.
Martin, on the other hand, doesn’t have the baggage and history Brown has, but he has just as many question marks.
The 19-year-old Florida native decided to skip college and play for Overtime Elite, the same program that Amen and Ausar Thompson played for last season. OTE is a new concept where players are immersed in basketball to prepare them for the draft. The issue is, we don’t know how good the competition is and whether or not it does truly prepare these prospects because there is no track record yet.
Seeing both Jaylen Martin and Charlie Brown Jr. on the Knicks Summer League squad, it’s clear that New York has at least two undrafted players who can help the team this season. The reason it’s more likely that Brown makes the roster — in addition to his age and experience — is that he does more things better right now, and he does them in areas the Knicks need the help.
Brown and Martin are basically the same size (6-foot-6, around 200 pounds), but they play differently. Martin is more of a combo guard, while Brown is a wing. And at the Vegas NBA Summer League, Brown showed he has the chops to be a 3-and-D wing in the league.
Brown’s defense stuck out more than anything this summer. He can guard multiple positions and create havoc with blocks and steals. The young veteran also rebounded well for his size and showed off his ballhandling ability, especially in transition. And he hit over 37% of his 3-point shots, which is important if he is going to stick with the Knicks.
As for Martin, he showed flashes of talent all over the court as well. The issues were that he is raw overall, not having played high-level basketball recently, and his shooting from deep was poor.
That’s all OK for a teenager making the leap from OTE to the NBA. The problem for the Knicks is that Martin won’t help this season as much as Brown will. Plus, at 26, Brown likely is what he is, and after several years in the G League, he’s ready to go with a big club. Martin needs all the playing time he can get right now against the best players he can face.
That is why Martin will probably spend most of his rookie year on the Westchester Knicks, while Brown could start the season on the bench for the real Knicks.
Martin could be a real player, maybe even a starter, someday. In 2023, though, it will be Brown who is the undrafted Knicks Summer League player who is most likely to make the 2023-24 roster.
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