Knicks' 3 Biggest Agenda Items in Summer League Aftermath

Though 2026 Summer League had its fair share of disappointments for the Knicks, it wasn't all bad. New York saw intriguing flashes from its rookies, while a few of the invites to Las Vegas turned heads at times as well.

Now, this leaves the Knicks with a few things related to their Summer League roster to be addressed before their pivot to the rest of their offseason.

1. Determine contract decisions for Tyler Nickel, Jack Kayil

New York's trips to Vegas was a success on the rookie front. Tyler Nickel backed up his case to be the potential best shooter to come out of this draft by nailing 19 threes and going 41.3% from deep. Meanwhile, relative unknown Jack Kayil immediately shined as an initiator and defender.

But now the Knicks have to sort out how these youngsters fit on a veteran-dominated roster that's fully designed to chase championships, rather than develop rookies.

This reality could particularly affect Kayil, who's more of a project and bet on potential paying off in the future. As a result, the team could pass on signing its top draft pick to any contract and instead have him play overseas another year.

There's drawbacks to this plan, like tanking the relationship with Kayil and him not developing as strongly as he could in the G League, that could make New York open to keeping him around. But the signs seem to be pointing to them taking whatever risk there is with stashing Kayil in favor of the benefits it'd bring.

Nickel, meanwhile, seems destined to secure a deal. But with the team extending an offer sheet to center Moussa Cisse, that'd rule out Nickel being signed to a standard contract.

Instead, he could be bound for a two-way deal that allows him to move back and forth between the NBA and the G League, all while being developed in-house by the Knicks.

He could outplay this kind of contract and put the Knicks in a financial bind, rather than being locked down on a manageable long-term pact, but New York appears ready to make that gamble given it's courting centers for its last roster spot right after Vegas.

2. Consider signing Liam Robbins and Jaden Akins to two-way deals

With every team having three allotted slots for two-way deals, the Knicks can use one on a rookie and still add talent with a bit more experience. Best of all, these contracts don't count toward the team's salary cap figure, so there's possible low-cost steals to be had.

Summer League presented two potential options for New York on this front in center Liam Robbins and guard Jaden Akins.

Robbins' showing is particularly noteworthy given the team's current need to shore up their frontcourt. He showed off his offensive skills, while also recording 10 blocks and 24 rebounds over five games.

The big man has seen a little bit of run in the NBA already, making 13 appearances for the Bucks in 2024-25, so he's not a complete unknown. But there's also juice left to squeeze given his small runway at the pro level to this point, which makes him an intriguing no-risk player to bring in and see if his Vegas flashes can come to fruition.

Then there's Akins, a G League All-Star, who turned it on offensively to close things out in Summer League. He offers an alluring archetype of a spark plug off the bench, which is valuable to a contender like New York that prefers to have multiple reserves it can call upon at any point.

Neither Robbins nor Akins have long NBA track records, so that works against them if the Knicks are hoping to snag a more proven vet with a two-way contract. But both demonstrating some intriguing traits could tempt New York into making sure another team doesn't scoop them up.

Of course, if Nickel gets a two-way, it'd likely be Robbins or Akins being signed then, rather than both. That'd allow the Knicks to still have a slot open for someone with more games under their belt.

3. Figure out who else could be worth keeping

The aforementioned four players above make up New York's top two-way candidates from Summer League, but the Knicks could still see a few of their Vegas contributors return in some kind of fashion.

This would come in the form of an Exhibit 10 contract (which is a step down from a two-way), training camp tryout or even adding them to their G League roster when the season rolls around. So even though some names were quieter in Las Vegas, they might end up back with the organization.

Dillon Jones is one player New York could try to keep around even if he's passed up for a two-way deal.

He was on such a contract this past season, but he's a current free agent and his showing in Summer League (plus the other standouts mentioned above) could see him deprioritized. However, the organization is familiar with him and he's been talked about positively, so maybe a reunion could take place.

There's also Nick Jourdain and Toby Okani, who both were on the G League team this past season and then suited up in Summer League for the franchise as well. Neither took off in Vegas (combined ppg of just 5.6), so a promotion is out of the question, but they could be targeted for another go-around in the developmental ranks.

Meanwhile, Oziyah Sellers and Langston Wilson could be new names the Knicks seek out when it's G League season.

Sellers didn't shine (5.8 ppg) in Las Vegas, but he knows what it's like to play at MSG after being with St. John's, and he showed solid three-point shooting in college that may help him get his foot in the door.

Wilson only appeared in two games, but he showed nice energy in both with nine points and nine rebounds across only 16 total minutes. That kind of hustle is going to endear him to coaches, and it may be worth probing more over an entire campaign.

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