Knicks Rookies Get Mixed Reviews at Summer League

The New York Knicks recent draft picks had their first chance to impress at the Las Vegas Summer League.

Jeremy Brener | Jul 24, 2024

Jun 26, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Pacome Dadiet poses for photos with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected in the first round by the New York Knicks in the 2024 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

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New York Knicks

The New York Knicks are back home from the Las Vegas Summer League after a week of learning more about the newest members of their organization.

Out of the four rookies the Knicks selected in last month's NBA Draft, all but Kevin McCullar Jr. saw a decent amount of action in Las Vegas.

However, Bleacher Report writer Andy Bailey wasn't all that impressed with the Knicks, giving them a "C+" for their efforts.

"The New York Knicks have three players from the draft seeing action in Vegas, and two of them, including first-rounder Pacôme Dadiet, look like projects," Bailey writes. "Dadiet is averaging more field-goal attempts than points, and he hasn't been able to generate steals or blocks at anywhere near an encouraging rate. Big man Ariel Hukporti is shy of a double-figures scoring average and isn't totaling many blocks either."

However, there was some positivity from the Knicks with their Summer League showing. No. 34 overall pick Tyler Kolek out of Marquette was easily the most exciting rookie from New York and he saved the team from getting a failing grade for the exercise.

"The Knicks still pretty comfortably pass this assessment, thanks to second-rounder Tyler Kolek exceeding expectations," Bailey writes. "Like plenty of others detailed so far, Kolek is missing too many shots, but he's looked like one of the best distributors in Vegas. He surveys the floor well and is plenty unselfish. Kolek has had at least seven assists in each of his four games."

Kolek isn't guaranteed a spot on coach Tom Thibodeau's rotation for the upcoming season, especially considering the fact that rookies notoriously don't crack his tight group. However, he has proven that there is something to work with in his game, and he'll continue his long summer to get ready for his first professional campaign. He could be thrown into the fire quickly as part of a contending team at a key position, but he has put himself in the mix for the Knicks backcourt when training camp rolls around in a few months from now.

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Published Jul 24, 2024

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.