Knicks Summer League: 3 Reasonable Reactions
A mirage means something different in the Las Vegas desert. Come July, the most prominent source of such trickery is none than NBA Summer League action held at UNLV, a 10-minute drive from The Mirage casino resort on The Strip.
For the Association's downtrodden programs, the Summer League is a perfect blend of meaningless yet exhilarating basketball fusion that also offers hope because of its focus on rookies. Win the de facto tournament and you're planning the championship parade route. Lose, oh well, go outside and enjoy the summer.
The NBA itself has appeared to play upon these, perhaps delusional, feelings by awarding championship rings to the Vegas victors. Portland produced the first bejeweled jackpot winners, its Trail Blazer prospects winning four in a row en route to developmental glory. Summer League play has been a championship godsend for Portland, which hasn't visited the traditional NBA Finals since 1992.
At least the Blazers, fresh off a 27-win season largely brought about by the long-term absence of Damian Lillard, have enjoyed some fleeting, if not sustainable success, in recent times. That's a stark contrast to their championship game opponents, the New York Knicks: Sunday's title was the closest the Knicks have gotten to a final round of any kind in the new century.
The latter stages of the summer will thus see hot takes about this successful exhibition slate, one where both New York losses came at the hands of the champions, bloom throughout the tri-state area. A prolonged period in the hardwood mire makes overreaction to Summer League endeavors an almost-rational response but remember: for every Donovan Mitchell there's a pair of Kevin Knoxes.
To help quell the sandstorms, All Knicks presents its most rational takes of the Vegas slate ...
Grimes, Sims Happened In Vegas, Won't Stay In Vegas
It's easy to be swayed by Grimes and Sims' mastery in Vegas. Grimes (22.6 points per game) was the second-leading scorer amongst those who appeared in all five of his team's Vegas contests while Sims rewarded the Knicks' newly-minted three-year faith in him by nearly averaging a double-double (11.6 points, 9.0 rebounds) in that same span.
Naturally, starved Knicks fans have gotten the impression that Grimes, a first-round pick from 2021, is ready for extended duties, with some ready to turn the page on veteran Evan Fournier. But his success should be taken with a grain of salt considering that his scoring came against players more likely destined for G League success rather than Association affairs. The same goes for Sims, who might struggle to swipe minutes away from a retained and revamped interior game that re-signed Mitchell Robinson and added Isaiah Hartenstein from the west coast.
Hypothetically inserting Grimes into the starting lineup also sells Fournier a little short: though the Orlando draftee struggled in his first season in New York, his veteran experience (second-most NBA service on the current roster behind Derrick Rose) could prove to be a valuable asset as the team goes into its apparent future with young talents at the cusp of their headlining potential (Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett).
In other words, don't stitch Grimes or Sims on your Knicks replica jerseys just yet. One thing's for sure: while the Summer League often hosts veterans who are grasping at one last chance for NBA glory, it's clear that Grimes and Sims' next Vegas hardwood excursion will (or at least should) only come if the NBA opts to put a team in Sin City in the near future. Heck, it's possible that their ultimate NBA impact could come in a different shade of blue.
No Feels on Keels
The main attraction behind Summer League broadcasts is the opportunity to see the latest high-profile draftees don their new employers' apparel for the first time and (presumably) dominate. Some, like the Orlando Magic, opt for a tease (giving top pick Paolo Banchero two games) while others offer pure inebriation for the downtrodden fan: Sacramento Kings supporters have playoffs on the brain after watching fourth overall headline the de facto Vegas award show.
Having opted to use draft day to stockpile assets for Brunson (and beyond?), the Knicks cast an inadvertent spotlight upon Trevor Keels, their only Brooklyn-based acquisition that has a name so far. The 18-year-old Duke alum, drafted 42nd overall after a single season in Durham, was perhaps never expected to be an immediate contributor in Manhattan, but some are already prepared to turn the page on him after a tough Vegas visit.
Keels was never drafted for his scoring prowess, but averaging less than six points in over 25 minutes a game (outpaced in scoring by understudy DaQuan Jeffries) on a 26 percent rate from the field was a bit alarming. Keels did fulfill some of his defensive potential, putting up 1.6 steals a game, but some panicked fans were no doubt perturbed by the former Blue Devil getting outplayed by Jabari Walker, who became a Vegas darling after he was named the penultimate pick of the draft ... 15 choices after Keels got the call from the Knicks.
But, if anything, Keels' Summer League struggles showed what most already knew: draft night was more about the future for the Knicks and that extends to their actual selection. Perhaps some semi-decent recent history in the second round (i.e. Robinson, Sims) raised the bar for Keels, but it should've been clear from the get-go that his 2022-23 impact is likely destined for Westchester (or Bridgeport) rather than Manhattan.
Runaway McBride
By now it's clear that Grimes and Sims have NBA futures. But what of fellow summer sophomore Miles McBride?
McBride impressed on paper, leading the Knicks' prospects in assists (5.0) and finished second behind Grimes in points (16.8). But did he do enough to prevent another year of frequent bus trips between Manhattan and Bridgeport? His quest for playing time at the Association level was tough as is (averaging just over nine minutes in 40 appearances) but the task becomes even more gargantuan with Brunson in tow.
For the time being, McBride did enough for the Knicks to have him on speed dial when injuries creep into the lineup. But it might take a blockbuster deal for him to take up any form of lasting NBA residency.
Having said that, it's hard to say that the most recent Vegas visit wasn't a success for McBride, who enjoyed a slight uptick in minutes, insertion into the starting lineup, and rewarding the team with several boosted averages (and nearly cutting his foul total in half as well). Factors beyond McBride's control will partly dictate his NBA destiny, but he at least made a lasting impression this time around.
