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76 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2025.07.16)”
Stat line aside, how did Kolek look doing what he did yesterday? Was it just that the Nets roster isn’t as good as Detroit or Boston? Or did he do things that genuinely alleviated the concern from the first two games?
He shot very well. I don’t think that’s just attributable to worse defense.
I still think he struggled bringing the ball up, at least in the second half. When pressed in the halfcourt, he was able to slip the ball to Huk often enough and Huk would make a decision out of the short roll. That won’t work with Mitch and I’m not entirely sure it works with KAT.
Honestly, making shots has been a bigger issue for me, so seeing Kolek make a bunch of shots was reassuring.
We may see a lot of sets where Kolek starts off-ball so Deuce or Clarkson or Hart can bring it across halfcourt, when we see him at all.
Kolek played with a sense of urgency. I still think he got exposed as not athletic enough to be a rotation player for us. We already have enough small guards who are better than him.
Did anyone bother looking at Ben Saraf? It’s hard to have anything remotely resembling Israeli patriotism these days, given our murderous politics, but I’m curious how he’ll do in the league.
lets pick skapintsev back up from the blazers they have too many centers he wont cost anything and hes cromulent for sure
The Athletic:
Despite rumors, LeBron likely to stay in L.A.
Amid the constant speculation recently about Lebron James’ future, both the Lakers and people close to the NBA’s all-time leading scorer expect that he will be with the organization for training camp once the season begins this fall, league sources told The Athletic.
Kolek’s shot falling opens up everything for him, so not only were the shots great to see, but the passing lanes felt more open. Someone mentioned this yesterday but you can pretty much ignore whatever his assist total was–he had a number of great corner finds that guys proceeded to brick.
That said, totally agree with EB that he still looked susceptible to ball pressure and that will pretty much render you DOA as anything more than a 3rd point guard or so in the NBA.
I thought he looked better than the box score. A few non-finishes that almost went down, stayed aggressive throughout. I think he has a chance to be a solid versatile wing. If I were a Nets fan he’d probably be the only pick I was excited about.
saraf is shooting 30.4% from the field by the way diawara is shooting 42.1% trying to figure out the love for him here
I wrote a long post towards the end of yesterday’s thread comparing pre-draft Siakam to Diawara.
At 20 years old (they were both born in April) Siakam was preparing to enter his freshman year at New Mexico State. He went on to have an excellent year statistically, especially in regard to rebounding, medium-usage efficient scoring, and shot-blocking. But according to the report I read, he only made 3 perimeter shots (jumpers) all year, and for his entire 2-year college career he was 3-17 from 3.
In watching Siakam’s college film, what stood out is his elite burst and coordination, especially in transition, including timing and footwork. Even with those long arms and legs, he didn’t look gangly at all, like Diawara looks right now.
The main differences I see with Diawara…he looks like he just had a growth spurt and isn’t used to his arms and legs yet. He gets pushed around in the paint, is a bit slow to react to situations. I watched a lot of the 2+ hour video of his play at Cholet, and it seems like he had license to do whatever he wanted, launching 3’s at will, taking ill-advised drives, etc. I like the motor but it is not elite and coordinated like Siakam’s was. His footwork is mediocre, and he’s gotten blown by in summer league by both smaller and bigger players.
However, I feel pretty confident in saying that he has a very good feel for the game, maybe better than the feel he has for his body. In summer league, even though he handled the ball quite a bit and made a bunch of passes in traffic, he has only 3 TOs in 66 minutes. The mechanics on his shot aren’t horrible, yesterday he hit a very Siakam-looking midrange shot. He clearly loves to defend, especially out high on the perimeter.
I see a sure-fire NBA rotation player in this 20yo kid. Not an elite player like Siakam, but I think that based on what I’m seeing in summer league, my initial take that his floor is Precious Achiuwa is pretty accurate. As to his ceiling, it’s all about where he tops out in his development. I would like to see that development occur here rather in Europe, because it seems like he has developed some bad habits there and it would be better to not let those habits get ingrained. I would 100% give him that rookie deal and play him mostly in the G-League, which I think has gotten better in terms of a good place for players to develop NBA-transferrable habits.
“lets pick skapintsev back up from the blazers they have too many centers he wont cost anything and hes cromulent for sure”
I would be outraged if we rostered this certified stiff.
As to Kolek, I will continue to believe that Summer League is just not a place where a player like him can thrive. He was getting double-teamed on inbounds plays and many times when he crossed the midcourt line.
Kolek is the kind of PG that needs good players on the floor with him. He’s the quintessential pass-first PG, and when he doesn’t have anyone to pass to and the defense can key on him, he’s not nearly as effective as a score-first PG.
I think the offense will not be an issue. What I was mostly looking for is defensive development, and while summer league players are obviously easier to defend, I really liked what I saw. He has to be able to keep his body in front of bigger players and to develop Brunson’s knack for drawing offensive fouls. He needs to be better in jumping passing lanes and making quick rotations. What will keep him off the floor more than anything else is if he gets targeted and exploited on every defensive possession, and I think he knows that.
I think he will be just fine.
I sorta think we need a permanent KB sticky, all caps:
“KEVIN KNOX LOOKED GREAT IN HIS FIRST SUMMER LEAGUE”
If a footer along the lines of “He made first team all-league in front of guys like JJJ and Trae Young who only made second” is deemed warranted, that might be a good idea, too.
Always nice to wake up and agree with Z-Man on various things.
Not at all convinced Diawara is Siakam 2.0, or even a poor man’s Siakam, or even a Precious floor for that matter, but I’ve slowly come around to being intrigued with his energy (dives to the floor first!) and length. Can’t teach those, and he’s young enough that maybe you can teach him all the basketball stuff. Agree with wanting him around. Let’s find out.
Also agree that Summer League isn’t a great place for Kolek, as scrubs really focused on him as the team’s all-star, but so pleased he turned things around. And agree about needing decent players around him, the number of assists he should have had were legion.
I did watch him a few times in the second half on D and he sometimes was lost in space, a very bad thing. If I make the last game I am going to try and focus on his defensive play — better than watching whoever we’re playing fail to execute their O.
I still like Delon as the ‘break glass in case of Jalen’s ankle’ guy, something about experience (and he showed it for us last year, albeit in a short stint). But I hope Kolek sticks and gets real run.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made neither first team nor second team all-tournament in the 2018 summer league. Two other point guards — Collin Sexton and Trae Young — made, respectively, first and second team.
Good analysis by Z-Man, but the connection with the floor of Precious doesn’t work. There’s zero question that Diawara’s peak in the NBA could be below where Precious is.
Care around the term “floor” is important.
SI.com, 2018 Summer League Winners and Losers:
Ummmm … yeah.
If we’re worried about Kolek based on SL performance, imagine how Rockets fans are feeling about #3 pick Reed Sheppard, who is shooting 36-32-70 and is averaging 2.5 assista to 4.5 TOVs.
On another note, Hukporti is averaging nearly 15 rebs/36 and 4 blocks/36. Also nearly 8 fouls/36, so there’s that.
Thanks Noble.
“There’s zero question that Diawara’s peak in the NBA could be below where Precious is.
Care around the term “floor” is important.”
Well sure, in absolute terms, his “floor” is below Achiuwa. I’m only sharing an opinion that based on what I’m seeing, I’d be very surprised if he tops out at that level, because it would mean that his development completely stalled at nearly the level he is as a young 20yo. I think it’s a certainty that he will become stronger, smarter, and more coordinated (footwork-wise) than he is right now. So to top out at Precious’s level would mean that he hardly has any development re: his shooting, dribbling, rebounding, defense, or b-ball IQ/court awareness. In other words, it seems reasonable to me that he will very probably get to at least the Precious level just by inertia, and that stalling below that level would be an outlier outcome. He already seems to have a better feel for the game and passing chops than Precious has right now.
Honestly, it’s more of an indictment of Precious than a compliment to Diawara. Precious has demonstrated that he’s not really a legit rotation player on a good team in the NBA, mainly because his development totally stalled at age 22. He has all the physical measurables and athleticism to have become a better player, but the combination of a broken shot and poor feel for the game has created a lower ceiling for him than was expected when he was drafted at #20.
To be the ultimate off-season pedant, sounds like you’re arguing that the bottom of his ceiling is ‘somewhat better than Precious.’ But you agree his floor is wash-out, although you don’t think that’ll happen (but tip of hat to Bob for presciently noting that possibility for all intriguing summer-league players via our Knicks Warning Label Kevin Knox).
I wish there were more players I wanted to pay attention to, but I guess Kolek and now Diawara isn’t too bad for Summer League. Much as I desperately want him to work out, not holding my breath for Dink. I will continue to root for Luka Scuka because name, and honestly he’s not been bad, but he’s also not been good.
I hope Dadiet can come back for the last game, but at this point, it feels like other than maybe Huk, most of the kids’. primary action early in the season will come in Westchester.
Re: Knox, even in summer league he had red flags, one of which was mentioned in that blurb. He shot 35% from the field and had 2.5 asts vs 4.0 TOVs.
Thing is, Knox was a terrible defender, which was evident in college and even in summer league. It’s a lot easier to carve out an NBA career if you are a plus on D.
And he’s an example of a player that totally stalled in his development. Even his supposed best skill (3pt shooting) actually regressed!
Anyway, dreaming on a 51st pick that we never heard of is a lot cooler than wishcasting on a high lottery pick that KB unanimously hated, yet saw a brief glimmer of hope for in SL.
I’m not worried about Kolek because of SL, I’m worried about Kolek because his lack of athleticism has been a concern for a long time and SL is reinforcing that as a legitimate worry.
Re: Precious, one of his main red flags as an NBA player is his utter inability to pass the ball. For his career his AST% is 7.0 while his TOV% is 12.1%. I can’t imagine Diawara ever being that bad as a passer. When you combine Precious’ passing woes with his shooting woes, you get a guy who is very limited in terms of where you can play him on offense, he kind of has to be an undersized defensive C rather than a versatile 2-way wing.
So while Diawara’s shot might top out at a Precious-like level, he has other stuff he can do on O, and that makes him playable as a plus-sized wing rather than an undersized C.
“I’m not worried about Kolek because of SL, I’m worried about Kolek because his lack of athleticism has been a concern for a long time and SL is reinforcing that as a legitimate worry.”
Well of course that’s a worry, and always will be. He’s not gonna get more athletic.
The question is, how does a player with Kolek’s athleticism carve out a niche as an effective NBA player? Who are the role models? What does he need to improve on to get there?
I don’t think you can take away much from SL in terms of answering those questions. Pre-season will be a much better indicator.
Oh — and Superman. Fun. Silly, and full of holes, but fun. Probably not worth spending much time thinking about. Just enjoy it and the popcorn.
Saw it with a full house of drunken seniors. Very weird, rowdy experience. Possibly recommended, although probably difficult to replicate.
Now have to go find Alan’s review…
Also, as Lafayette once sung: “Immigrants – we get the job done!”
Summer league 2018 game 1 thread, because why not?
Annoyed we haven’t nailed down our coaching staff before SL. Not worried about Tyler or Pacome being properly evaluated because that will happen in practices. But the young undeveloped guys are going to be evaluated based on what they are doing in Vegas and seems logical that having the full staff opining is better than not.
hard for me to see kolek helping us much this season…he may get on the court less than either dadiet or diawara…
diawara stands out because he’s been coached well, knows how to play the game and has serious athletic talent…
nice to imagine starting OG at the 3 with a more developed diawara backing hin up…
kolek played great. not just making shots, but he had several awesome hook passes that didn’t convert to the boxscore and a couple of beautiful lobs. his defense was also really solid, considering. the nets poa defense was shit.
i thought huk had a really strong first half on defense. he really worked hard to help early, which was a definite weakness last year. nnaji, on the hand, really lumbers out there.
diawara made two nice passes in the third quarter off the dribble, each with a decent degree of difficulty. his shot isn’t a thing of beauty but it looks okay, especially for a guy his size. i actually thought his defense was pretty poor throughout but that seems to be a lonely take. from my seat he failed to use his length to help on digs or weak side rim protection and he was too quick to give up the first step and start chasing on drivers who weren’t that quick. his length and speed definitely stand out on a summer league court for a guy who can maybe shoot and sometimes dribble a bit.
Well, my Frank Ntilikina takes have aged well.
interesting end to MLB’s all-star game last night…it worked well…
I’m pleased that there are at least signs that Diawara is more than just Dadiet’s buddy and/or a favor to Yabu’s agent. When is the last time the Knicks grabbed a guy who was basically on no one else’s radar (Vecenie had him ranked as, like, the 79th-best prospect in the draft), who turned out to be a useful NBA player? Mozgov?
it looked like they relied on beauchamp to handle the ball against pressure more so than kolek…
Noble, thanks for the link — I think… Besides sadly seeing lots of folks who appear to no longer post, these nuggets stood out for me:
Knox looks like the right pick. Culture is everything from here on out.— Charles Oakley
Do you think Giannis and Ben Simmons should play any position but PG? – Jowles
Then a weird flashback courtesy of Jowles:
I think it’s a trend league-wide, right now, to not give long contracts to “role players.”
Randle, 2/9
Then some guys who earned long contracts and some guys who shouldn’t have gotten long contracts:
Barton 4/12.5
Paul, 4/40
George, 4/35
James, 4/40
I agree on his defense. He got blown by a lot this game.
He was also the biggest Knick on the court at the end of the game and never seemed to realize he should be running to the rim if someone got beat.
Given his standing reach, I’d hoped he’d be more of a deterrent at the rim but players don’t seem to struggle doing so even when he’s right there.
He’s young and has a lot of tools, but he doesn’t really do anything at an NBA level right now.
To put that last bit into modern context: LeBron James is currently in the second year of a two-year contract worth $101,355,998
“ When is the last time the Knicks grabbed a guy who was basically on no one else’s radar..”
Loaded question and possibly more answers than sandwiches. When they picked? Confined to the draft? Actually turned out to be good?
Drafted or signed as a free agent, and whose name was barely even known to your hardcore NBA nerds. I don’t know if either Starks or Mason qualified, because I wasn’t nearly as plugged in then as I am now by being on sites like this. But I remember when we signed Mozgov, it seemed like no NBA analyst had any clue who he was. And that’s a guy who went on to earn nearly $90 million in the NBA.
DRed for GM
Fun thread…though a reminder of how stupidly long I held on to the hope Frank would be something. A learning experience – never again. Kolek sucks! Cut him!
Okay. Very very good question. Got to be more than a few. Won’t check ChatGBT!
I agree with pt’s rosy takes on Kolek and Huk, and his less rosy one on Nnaji.
I could probably quibble a bit with the Diawara take, but mostly agree that his defense was spotty at best. At the POA he gets down into a good defensive stance, but the feet are a click slow to laterally cover ground, so he can get beat easily off the dribble by anyone resembling a quick ball-handlers. He seems to get lost in the paint on both ends.
I also don’t see the timing on shot-blocking, which may or may not be correctible. The length/standing reach make me more optiminstic that it can get better, but it will depend on whether it’s a recognition thing or a quick-twitch ability thing.
Going back to Siakam, it was very evident even as a 20yo college freshman that he was an elite quick-twitch athlete but also with great game situation processing skills. That definitely does not seem to be the case with Diawara, although as pt pointed out, you do see some of that in his passing.
Thankfully, we’re talking about a 51st pick and not a lottery pick. Even Mitch was picked nearly 20 spots earlier. So just having a guy who we can dream on at that spot is a great thing to take away from summer league.
Maybe Taj when he was in street clothes?
Diawara elevating to Siakam reminds me of my past life here, when I used to write about Renaldo Balkman becoming the next Scottie Pippen.
Some random observations from the game last night.
Diawara looks like he already has a solid handle and dribbling ability. Even one of the announcers kept pointing that out. He seems very active and one of the things I liked he seemed emotional (in a way that he expects to do things well on the court). Like Z-Man said, I would like to see him over here, playing a lot in the G League and some with the big club.
Dadiet. I know he didn’t play, but did you catch one of the announcers speaking very highly of him? He talked very much how he has a great skill set and that if he would have played college ball he would have been drafted much lower last year.
Kolek. His numbers where good in the first half, great even. But, I am still not overly impressed. He really can’t get by people in either the full court press or even in half court. When he is pressed, we really don’t start our sets until around 12ish seconds. I think ideally it might be a good idea to get another guard/ball handler who can play defense and hit an open shot. Also, one who is bigger.
“Diawara elevating to Siakam reminds me of my past life here, when I used to write about Renaldo Balkman becoming the next Scottie Pippen.”
I think the last “positive” we clinged to during the Isiah Reign of Error was his ability to find value in the draft. Balkman had a great physical profile and motor and it was hopeful that he at least found the next Lee or Robinson down the draft board. Sadly, it never happened.
He’s only 41, is there still hope?
A certain assistant coach for the Timberwolves would like a word.
Also, Cope.
“When he is pressed, we really don’t start our sets until around 12ish seconds. I think ideally it might be a good idea to get another guard/ball handler who can play defense and hit an open shot. Also, one who is bigger.”
To be fair, most PGs will not just blow by full-court pressure, especially if doubles come. Brunson definitely ate lots of seconds bringing the ball up when pressured in the backcourt, and when doubles came he had to give the ball up.
Linsanity came to a screeching halt when the Heat decided to apply full-court pressure (mostly with Mario Chalmers iirc) against him and blitzing him.
I think Kolek is being told to not pass in the backcourt unless he has to so that he can get reps in dealing with that full-court pressure. I thought he did a better job of protecting the ball and then making the right read/pass. In prior games he was turning the ball over more and getting stripped.
Does Robinson not count? He came out of nowhere for me. Sims came out of nowhere too, but he’s just hanging as a role player, so I don’t think he qualifies.
I still like Beauchamp even though his shot isn’t falling rn. He’s the kind of guy who can play real minutes if one of our wings gets injured. McCullar is probably a better defender, but I’m not sold on him yet.
Unless someone better shakes loose from another team, I’d be fine with Beauchamp on a vet min. Give Diawara a 2-way so he can room with Dadiet.
Quickley was on the radar but much lower on everyone’s draft boards. I think it was the same for Grimes, but nearly as much as IQ.
I would have liked to see Diawara pull down a few more rebounds, he got outproduced on the boards by Dink Pate, who was playing more on the perimeter and played half as many minutes
Beal is now a Clipper, seems like a good fit for him
EDIT: Coke to DRed
Remember when Beal and Wall were on the verge of becoming the best backcourt in the NBA?
At that price point it’s a worthy gamble for the Clips, especially after trading away Powell. How much will Beal actually play, and is he washed, or was he just checked out in Phoenix due to the general dysfunction there? (Admittedly, he was a key part of that dysfunction.)
Huk looks likes a player. His floor seems to be someone who can fill in for an injury. But, he can grow into much more than that. He does display some offense touch (1 handed floater) and even some passing skills. I love how aggressive he is on defense.
Someone mentioned this yesterday, I believe, but I would like some minutes and lineups to feature OG at the 3 rather than the 4. I think it will help our defense and rebounding.
Powell sort of turned into Collins and Beal. Good moves for the Clips. Also, Beal and Powell are about the same age.
The Clippers never learn anything. It’s not so much that Beal is washed. He’s not, at least not on offense. It’s that they keep trying to build with aging stars on the downside. It’s not going to work. Beal could help a lot of teams, but he can’t be a main piece. He’s more of a 6th man at this stage.
I think the goal is for him to be the 6th man, though, Strat. Or, at least, a tertiary piece of the starting lineup. When healthy, the offense is Beard and Kawhi.
I’m no fan of Beal, but I don’t get how you can criticize the move. He may not even be as good as Powell now, but Beal plus Collins is certainly better.
I mean, they’re an old team, so may as well get what you can out of Beard and Kawhi’s last year(s).
JK47,
I think you nailed him perfectly from the start.
He was drafted to be Ron Harper in the triangle, but then we fired Phil. That made no sense for either side.
We wasted a ton of our and his time trying to turn him into a PG he could never be instead of trying to develop him into a 3&D switchable wing with secondary passing skills. He should have been shooting a 1000 3s a day. It was the injuries every single summer and season that put the final nails in his NBA career. He’s doing fine overseas now against weaker.
I couldn’t watch the game last night and the NBA app only shows highlights of the game, which sucks big time. 1.5 minutes of highlights tells you nothing.
My hopes and concerns are focused on only 4 players: Kolek, Huk, Dadiet and Diawara. I don’t think anyone else has a shot of being on the roster. Lot’s of g-leaguers.
What I’m hearing is some improvement by Kolek but let’s not be excited.
Huk is going to be a cog in this lineup.
Dadiet and Diawara are talented but raw and need work but there’s hope. But at this time they are just very inexpensive roster fill-ins for the big club.
All he is at this stage is a scorer. He doesn’t play defense anymore and contributes nothing else they need when Harden and Kawhi are on the court. So you are turning a still pretty good high usage scorer (his main positive attribute) into a lower usage scorer and probably overall negative.
Now if he’s strictly a 6th man, that would be fine.
Then he’s going to light it up off the bench when someone else is sitting (I’d love for him to be our 6th man instead of Clarkson), but every minute he’s playing WITH Harden and Kawhi is probably a mistake. I’d way rather have some low usage 3&D plus defender and rebounder on the court that’s adding more value to that lineup.
wow, the phoenix suns still owe beal 96 million dollars…
this feels like one of the biggest financial errors ever…
if huk can find his way on to the court, and josh can rightfully come off the bench – our bench unit with deuce, clarkson plus yabu should be a super high energy bunch…
seems like years since we had an impactful bench group…
It’s really just going back to right before the OG trade, since IQ came off the bench. Our bench mob with him, Obi, Grimes, Alvaro Bourne, etc., was really fun.
1. Dots.
2. Connect.
Step 1 already completed.
This is correct, but the rest of the post is too galaxy brained. Frank was a bust because he doesn’t have the talent to play in the NBA. He can’t shoot, score at the rim, rebound, make plays for others in all but the most nominal sense, and the defensive empirics never matched the reputation.
This is why he’s currently the 8th highest minutes getter for Partizan, though he does edge out Duane Washington Jr.
What could you possibly be alluding to, E? I’m surely baffled by your coded references to an idea you’ve rarely discussed previously on Knickerblogger Dot Net.
I’m always here for Renaldo Balkman references.
Returning to yesterday’s important sandwich discourse, I must ask the group which, if any, of the following they would classify as a sandwich:
1. Open-faced sandwich
2. Hamburger (i.e., on a bun, not a patty melt)
3. Hot dog
4. Calzone
Okay, I’ll bite (mmmm…). 1 and 2 qualify as sandwiches – if you put roast beef and swiss on a bun it’s a sandwich, so why not a burger. Hot dog probably, but I struggle with it. But there are sausage sandwiches, so why not a dog. But a calzone is a folded pizza, and I don’t consider a pizza slice a sandwich because… it’s not.
Frank failed virtually every intangible test:
1. Didn’t want it enough.
2. Meek and passive personality.
3. Didn’t work hard enough.
4. Never did the things necessary to try to ward off a series of very similar soft tissue injuries.
A hot dog is not a sandwich unless you’re the kind of person who eats pizza with a knife and fork.
The Clippers are feeling a bit like the Traveling Wilburys these days. Beal is Roy Orbison. Their ceiling is Handle With Care.
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