To New York Knicks Kick off your Summer League action this year with a game against the Charlotte Hornets at 5 PM ET on ESPN2.
With three 2024 NBA Draft picks active for Summer League games, as well as recent two-way players from last year’s roster, the Knicks have some young prospects to watch this summer. Here are four players to keep an eye on during Summer League action.
Pacome Dadiet
Wings of size don’t grow on trees. The Knicks are betting on the development of 18-year-old Dadiet. The club’s only first-round draft pick this year, Dadiet played professionally abroad in France and Germany.
At 6-8 wing, Dadiet has a lot of potential and could become a depth piece for the Knicks in the future. He can hit shots on and off the ball. Dadiet as a finisher alongside second-round pick Tyler Kolek looks attractive.
Dadiet needs to become a more complete player, especially if he sees minutes in a Tom Thibodeau-trained team. It will be important to watch how Dadiet defends on the perimeter, if he can fight on the boards and grow as a secondary playmaker. That’s exactly what the Summer League is for.
Tyler Kolek
Outside of Jalen Brunson, New York doesn’t have a traditional ball-handling point guard on the roster, so there could be some minutes for Kolek this upcoming season if an injury occurs. Kolek could be an impact player in Summer League.
The 6-3 guard averaged 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game in his senior season at Marquette. His skills as a passer in the pick and roll and as a finisher around the basket on drives should be on display. Kolek also shot 38.8 percent from three-point range.
The Knicks gave Kolek $6.6 million in guaranteed money, an NBA record for a second-round pick. During games, Kolek’s defense at the point of attack as well as his perimeter shooting are skills to watch during Summer League.
Ariel Hukporti
In the Thibodeau era, Knicks centers had a simple job. Protect the paint, attack the offensive glass, run the floor and set good screens. Without much competition on the Summer League roster, the 6-11 Hukporti should burn the five in the next few games.
A second-round pick, the Knicks recently signed Hukporti to a two-way contract. He is likely to spend a lot of time in the NBA G-League with the Westchester Knicks this upcoming season.
Rokas Jokubaitis
Jokubaitis might be the most sophisticated player on New York’s Summer League roster. Ranked 34th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, the Lithuanian guard has spent the last few years with FC Barcelona of the EuroLeague. Jokubaitis won the EuroLeague Rising Star award in 2022.
The 23-year-old guard should get some running during Summer League, but with Kolek being a recent second-round pick, there may not be as many minutes left to play. Maybe Knicks Summer League head coach Yoshimoto data allows Jokubaitis and Kolek to play together.
Even though the left-handed point guard is joining the Knicks for Summer League, it appears Jokubaitas will not be joining the team on a permanent basis. He is close to returning to Lithuanian basketball club Zalgiris Kaunas, according to Basket News.