The Knicks opened their five-game Summer League run in Las Vegas against the Brooklyn Nets, and the roster looked more like a test of patience than a showcase. Jack Kayil, the team’s No. 39 overall pick, was added this week after contract issues overseas cleared up just in time for the opener.
That timing matters because the Knicks are fresh off lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy 27 days ago and are still balancing the pull of a title defense with the need to see what young players can actually become. They are over three months away from Ring Night at Madison Square Garden, which makes this stretch less about celebration than about sorting out who can help later without disturbing what already works.
Mohamed Diawara is the name most likely to carry that evaluation. The Knicks gave him a four-year deal as a restricted free agent, and he is expected to get more on-ball opportunities in Summer League to keep working on shot creation, playmaking and three-point shooting after what was described as an impressive rookie year. In a setting where many regular rotation players are absent, that kind of responsibility becomes the point.
The shortage is part of the story. The Knicks are defending champions, and the same win-now approach that helped them get there has left little young depth eligible for Summer League. Richardas Dadiet, the club’s only first-round pick in the last five years, is still part of the picture, but his time has been limited enough that the team already picked up his third-year option at $2.98 million this offseason. By the end of October, it must decide whether to keep him on for 2027-28 at a $5.37 million team option.
So the opener against the Brooklyn Nets is not just the first game of a five-game trip through Las Vegas. It is the first real chance to see whether Diawara can stretch into a larger role, whether Kayil can settle in after a late roster addition, and whether the Knicks can keep their title core intact while still finding a next layer beneath it.
