Early Summer League Standouts Are Painful Knicks Reminder

Some lessons must be taught the hard way, and New York is learning that this summer.

The Knicks might be feeling some sort of way as they watch other teams' Summer League standouts find success. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For most diehard Knicks fans, the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas hasn’t been a fun watch thus far, as the Knicks are 0-2. Now, records in the summer league don’t mean much, as it's more about development and seeing who can step up and possibly be part of the rotation in the upcoming season.

The Knicks hope Pacôme Dadiet and Mohamed Diawara, in particular, can take that next step; the former has, while the latter, Diawara, has gotten off to a slow start. Meanwhile, rookies Jack Kayil and Tyler Nickel have had their moments through two games, but Kayil isn’t expected to be with the club this season.

Looking back at the 2026 NBA Draft, fans were banking on the Knicks using their three picks to find role players to add to the rotation. Instead, they made multiple trades and settled on Nickel and Kayil in the second round.

It’s only Summer League, but the early results show that the Knicks could’ve used players like Cameron Carr, Zuby Ejiofor, and Tarris Reed, who have played much better than New York’s guys.

Now, we can add Meleek Thomas and Dillon Mitchell to that list of early summer league standouts, who were on the Knicks’ radar before the draft and are making some noise in the NBA Summer League.

Knicks may be regretting not taking Meleek Thomas or Dillon Mitchell after their recent Summer League performances

On Sunday, Thomas—taken by the Cavaliers with the 34th overall pick—erupted for 30 points in his second summer league game.

The former Arkansas guard shot 10-of-24 from the field and 4-of-10 from beyond the arc. He also stuffed the stat sheet with seven assists, four rebounds, four steals and two turnovers in 34 minutes. The Knicks reportedly worked out the former Razorbacks guard towards the end of May.

Coming into the draft, Thomas was known as an electrifying scorer at Arkansas, who also shot 41.6% from deep last season under head coach John Calipari, and he showcased that against the Pistons.

Cleveland's 2nd-round pick, Meleek Thomas, in today's @NBASummerLeague action:

30 PTS (game-high)
4 REB
7 AST
4 STL
4 3PM pic.twitter.com/3sNonwollF

— NBA (@NBA) July 12, 2026

Thomas put the ball on the floor and showed no fear in pulling up for threes. This 30-point effort was on the heels of his 20-point performance in his summer league debut against the Pacers, as he also impacted other parts of the floor.

Meanwhile, Mitchell, whom the Knicks reportedly worked out a week before the draft and who was selected with the 40th pick by the Celtics in July, showed he has a bit of an offensive game in his performance against the Hornets on Sunday.

The former St. John’s forward dropped 24 points (10-of-20 FG, 3-of-5 3PT), eight rebounds, six steals, two blocks, and two turnovers in 9 minutes. Mitchell showed off his athleticism, getting out on the fast break and running the floor. He also did a good job of playing the passing lanes to create turnovers and just knew where to be on the floor.

Celtics rookie Dillon Mitchell 24 PTS (10-20 FG, 2-5 3P), 8 REB (7 OREB), 2 AST, 6 STL, 2 BLK vs. Hornets

They may have gotten a steal in the 2nd round pic.twitter.com/zKYA0rnhSs

— Role Player Performances (@BenchHighlights) July 12, 2026

Based on the way he played in college as a defensive-minded, athletic wing, Mitchell would’ve fit in perfectly off the bench for the Knicks. Instead, the Knicks watched him go to Boston, one pick after they took Kayil.

With all that being said, since it's summer league, these performances should be taken with a grain of salt, as these rookies still have to do it in the regular season, where the games mean more and the stakes are higher.

However, one does wonder how these guys would’ve looked in the Knicks' blue and orange in 2026-27.