The 2026 NBA Summer League is a wrap for the Knicks after a 110-88 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night. New York went 1-4 during the exhibition games. But the five games offered a chance to see how some of the Knicks’ recent draft picks would fare in larger roles.
From the rookie showings of Tyler Nickel and Jack Kayil to Mohamed Diawara’s failure to launch, let’s focus on four takeaways from the five-game stint in Las Vegas.
Rookie review
On draft night, the Knicks made a series of deals to move out of the first round. In the second round, the club might’ve found two players with potential in Nickel and Kayil.
Selected 47th overall, Nickel has the clearest path to an NBA role. He is a lights-out shooter with a lightning-quick release. Nickel made 19-of-46 threes (41.3 percent) during Summer League. At the NBA level, the three-ball will be how he contributes, and he showed that in Summer League as 46 of Nickel’s 56 (82 percent) field goal attempts were three-pointers. He’ll have to work on his handle as well as attacking closeouts. Nickel was better than advertised on defense. He competes and was mostly in the right spots.
Picked 39th overall, Kayil showed flashes of being a reliable combo guard. He can run a pick-and-roll and create pull-up jumpers or stepbacks, and he looked comfortable as a passer. A 19-point, three-steal, four-assist game against the Detroit Pistons was a good showing from the 6-foot-3 guard. Still, he has some work to do. Kayil shot only 34.2 percent from the field in four games.
As Ian Begley recently noted, if the Knicks sign a third center, they wouldn’t have enough financial wiggle room to offer Nickel or Kayil a standard NBA contract. With Miles McBride, Jordan Clarkson and Landry Shamet all on the roster next year, having Kayil stay overseas would make the most sense. Nickel could be in line for a two-way contract.
Small sample size
A rotation player for parts of his rookie season, Diawara seemed poised to have a strong Summer League. But those hopes quickly faded as the 2025 second-round pick struggled. Diawara was just 1-for-14 (seven percent from the field), scoring seven points in 49 minutes, before missing the last three contests with a finger injury.
Diawara didn’t hit enough shots from deep (1-for-10 from three) to keep the defense honest, and he wasn’t able to find clean lanes for drives to the rim.
Despite the shooting struggles, there were some positives. Diawara did a good job on the boards, collecting 5.5 rebounds per game. He also flashed good vision with some nifty passes, though it didn’t lead to many makes from his teammates.
It’s an extremely small sample size in a very different role for the 6-foot-9 forward. And it’s fair to say the lack of a true point guard on the floor was a factor in the results.
Third-year pressure
One of the rare third-year players participating in Summer League, Pacome Dadiet had an uneven showing. In four games, the 2024 first-round draft pick averaged 15.3 points, but shot just 36.4 percent from the field and 16.0 percent from behind the three-point line.
Though he struggled to put the ball in the basket at an efficient rate, Dadiet showed some signs of growth. He was much better off the ball, cutting to the rim for a few finishes near the basket. Also, Dadiet’s defensive activity was adequate.
Dadiet is still just 20 years old, but the NBA is a quick-moving league with windows of opportunity closing faster than a New York minute. The Knicks already have three wings in OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart as starters. Diawara passed Dadiet on the depth chart last year. The Knicks will decide whether to pick up the fourth-year team option on Dadiet’s contract in the fall.
No solutions at center
With Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond as the only centers on the roster, the Knicks are still in search of help at the position. Summer League hasn’t provided a clear solution to the Knicks’ center depth problem. Seven-footer Liam Robbins started for New York’s summer squad and provided middling results. He was a large presence in the middle and a deterrent at the rim, blocking 2.0 shots per game. Robbins also finished well around the rim.
But he has flaws. Robbins is slow-footed, which led to a lot of fouls. At 27 years old, the former Vanderbilt center has flirted with the three-pointer but hasn’t been accurate. He shot 20 percent on long-distance attempts during Summer League and hit just 30 percent of his attempts last season in 32 G League games with the Rip City Remix.
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