As the New York Knicks become more expensive, finding production from young players on cheap contracts becomes mission critical to keeping the bones of their veteran core intact. Yet, this search for cost-controlled impact requires giving actual playing time to at least one of their prospects. And it doesn’t sound like the Knicks believe they’ll be able to do that next season.
Keith Smith of Spotrac published a tour de force of NBA intel coming out of Las Vegas Summer League. Among his many tidbits included this from a Knicks scout:
“This is a tough rotation to crack. We have a lot of NBA veterans who are going to play a lot. But Pacome (Dadiet) looked a lot more comfortable this year than last year. Tyler (Kolek) got some run last year and we’re comfortable with playing him more this year. Ariel (Hukporti) was forced to play at times last year and he’s more ready if that happens again this year.”
This falls short of declaring the young guys won’t play. Except, well, it sure doesn’t seem like they’re going to play.
So much of the Knicks’ rotation already appears set
Signing Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson positions the Knicks to run eight veterans deep every single night. They have potentially confirmed the starting five will be Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Mitchell Robinson. From there, they have Yabusele, Clarkson, and Josh Hart.
This rotation still has room for another ball-handler, wing shooter, and/or big man, depending on how you feel about Yabusele playing the 5 or logging time next to Towns. It isn’t clear whether the Knicks’ youngsters on tap check enough of those boxes.
Tyler Kolek brings plenty of ball-handling but was all over the place in summer league. He may need to usurp Clarkson to get regular playing time. Pacome Dadiet is turning heads in practice, but the defense and three-point shooting is too all over the place to pencil him in for frequent minutes on the wing.
Kevin McCullar Jr. stood out for his on-ball efforts and defensive activity in Las Vegas, but signing him will be a challenge if the Knicks want to add another veteran-minimum deal, and he, too, sports a shaky outside shot. Rookie Mohamed Diawara poses similar problems. He is drawing early comparisons to OG Anunoby, but right now, his on-ball offense is waaay ahead of his three-point touch.
Ariel Huckporti is the most NBA ready of the bunch, and even he seems to be more break-in-case-of-emergency than rotation staple. New York won’t need him on a consistent basis unless it loses one of Yabusele, Towns, or Robinson to trade or injury.
The rest of free agency will speak volumes about New York’s developmental plans
With two roster spots left, how the Knicks fill them will say a great deal about whether they have faith in one of the “kids” to soak up real reps.
If they wind up signing a veteran like Ben Simmons, Cody Martin, Amir Coffey, Landry Shamet, Malcolm Brogdon, or someone else, then forget about emphasizing development. They clearly won’t have any intention of prioritizing reps for Kolek, Dadiet, or Huckporti. Not outside of garbage time, anyway.
It’s a different story if the Knicks instead decide to sign McCullar and roster Diawara or James Nnaji. This would be a strong signal that they believe one of them, Dadiet, or Kolek is capable of contributing to winning basketball on a semi-regular basis.
New York’s anonymous scout seemingly confirmed which way the team is leaning. We’ll have to see if anything changes.