The first half of the SummerKnicks’ tenure in Las Vegas is over. That’s cause there is no way they make it to the knockout stage. And hey, not that we care! On to the links and notes.
- The Knicks dropped to 0-2 in Summer League with a 70-49 loss to San Antonio, which brought them closer to the prospect of having an 82-0 season once real basketball starts next fall. No Scenes from Russell, so here are some notes from boxscore-watching G2.
- Rookie flamethrower Tyler Nickel again led the SummerKnicks, scoring 16 points and making four more threes. He is now 10-of-21 from deep through two games, shooting 47.6 percent from distance, and one of only three players to hoist at least 10-plus threes per game in Las Vegas. Not counting Caleb Wilson (one-game sample), Nickel has the second-best 3P% among dudes launching more than 8 3PA per game.
- Fellow neophyte Jack Kayil made his debut and finished with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 21 minutes. He started slowly, then hit consecutive threes and showed some burst. Most importantly, however, was what Kayil said after the game, with the rookie still dead-set on staying in the USA instead of getting back to Germany: “My goal is to play in the NBA. That’s why I went into the draft.”
- Pacome Dadiet followed his 20-point opener with 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting and another rough night from deep. He is now 2-of-13 from three through two games. There are flashes, but the efficiency is nowhere to be found, and I doubt anybody can predict, let alone know, what’s next for the Frenchmen.
- Mohamed Diawara’s SL outings have been much worse, but our own Michael Zeno let everybody know Mo’s struggles are a “big nothingburger.”
- Lots of folks asking about Liam Robbins this weekend in the comments. 0-for-2 yesterday, no freebies, two boards, one dime, five turnovers, and six personal fouls in 13 minutes. Overall, a minus-14 plus/minus.
- I have no clue if it’s an SL rule to only use a maximum of 15 players in a single game, but I find it hilarious you don’t find time for two dudes in a 70-49 meaningless game and hand out a couple DNP-CDs to them at this stage. Condolences to Treysen Eaglestaff and Jaden Akins.
- The New York Post’s Stefan Bondy said after Saturday’s game that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Kayil stays with the Knicks. We’ll see, but if you ask me, this little dude is for some reason starting to be a bit too much of a pain on the rear. Nothing to do with his game, don’t get me wrong, but he and his comments ever since he got drafted are not giving me good vibes at all—I might be dying alone on that front.
- Staying with what might or might not happen next season, remember the Knicks still have a couple of roster spots open and to be filled before (or nearly) the regular season start. That’s why they may still explore a bigger center move during the season, which is the question CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn tried to answer on Friday. A possibility to get there:
“It wouldn’t be terribly surprising to see the Knicks dangle Deuce McBride in such a trade, either. They’re loaded with guard depth, and McBride is entering the final year of his team-friendly, three-year extension. If the Knicks are going to shop for a bigger name, it might make more sense to do so during the season, when filling out roster spots is cheaper and they’d therefore have a bit more flexibility to trade for someone making actual money.”
- Jose Alvarado Sr. gave the New York Post a wonderful look at his son’s journey from the Roberto Clemente projects to becoming an NBA champion with his hometown team. Worth the damn full read. Here’s a little quotable I found extraordinary (yes, you can also find golden nuggets in the photo captions!).
Alvarado Sr. knew the Knicks would win Game 5 of the Finals due to the significance of the number. “He got traded on the fifth. His daughter’s birthday is on the fifth. He’s representing the five boroughs. We live on the fifth floor,” he said.
- OAKAAK DaQuan Jeffries will play for EuroLeague newcomers Besiktas next season. As incredible as it sounds, and even if he only logged 2.7 MPG, DQJ appeared in 17 (!) games during the 2024 (!!) season. These are the final point differences in the games he played: 44, 25, 24, 22, 21, 21, 19, 18, 17, 14, 11, -1, -9, -14, -17, -22, and -23. He logged seven seconds in that one-point loss.
- New Lakers franchise player Austin Reaves praised the Knicks’ chemistry as the key ingredient for their championship. Too bad for Austin, LA decided to literally start from scratch this summer.
- ESPN gave San Antonio an A+ for Wembanyama’s five-year, $252 million extension. Meanwhile, the NBPA is mad and “not a fan” of Victor Wembanyama’s discount deal (he gave up possibly $50 million, including escalators, while Jalen Brunson left $113 million on the table).
- NBPA executive director David Kelly admitted the union should have fought harder against the apron system during the last CBA negotiation, arguing the mechanism is decimating teams and forcing decisions that are based on cost control. At the end of the day, Kelly said that players should not have to “carry the burden” of keeping rosters together.
- Ja Morant introduced himself to Portland as not a “bad guy,” hinting that guns are not in his pockets anymore, wanting a fresh start, and proclaiming his love for nature. I see those clips, and I want to love Ja. Can’t wait for this new chapter to start.
- The Bucks re-signed Gary Trent Jr. to a four-year, $64 million contract extension coming off a vet-min deal and his worst season ever. Yes, you read that right, and that’s why there are already calls for an investigation over potential cap circumvention.
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