New York Knicks: 5 Takeaways From Las Vegas Summer League

Jul 14, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; New York Knicks forward Cleanthony Earlly (17) stands next to Philadelphia 76ers guard Scottie Wilbekin (18) as a technical foul shot is taken during an NBA Summer League game at Thomas and Mack Center. The Knicks won the game in overtime, 84-81. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

With the Las Vegas Summer League nearing it’s end, the New York Knicks finished up their run Friday by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks. The Knicks finish the Summer League with a 4-1 record, defeating the San Antonio Spurs and top-three picks D’Angelo Russell of the Los Angeles Lakers and Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers. The only loss the Knicks suffered came at the hands of the Golden State Warriors.

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While the stats and results do not matter much from the Summer League, it is the first chance to see some of the younger players get in an NBA setting. Also, it is a chance for players to make a name for themselves and try earning a spot on NBA teams. Every year we see players come out of virtually nowhere to earn looks for fall training camps and roster spots once the regular season comes around.

For the New York Knicks, this was especially true. Not only have they had unheralded players come out of nowhere to make the final roster, such as Travis Wear last summer, there are also some spots available. When a team has as poor a season as the Knicks did in 2014-15, there will assuredly be a lot of turnover on the roster. The NBA Draft in June and free agency following have shown that, as the Knicks are bringing in plenty of new faces for the upcoming season.

But, even with all of the new faces, there are still a couple of spots that are up for grabs, and more that could open up after the performances of some players over the past week in the Summer League.

While we will have to wait a couple of more weeks to see how the Knicks roster will look for training camp to prepare for the regular season, some players definitely played higher than expectations in Las Vegas to put themselves squarely on the block to earn at least a look for training camp either with the Knicks or another team. But, on the other hand, there were also players that flopped a bit, putting their hold on a roster spot in jeopardy as they did not perform as well as the Knicks were hoping.

We will be sure to touch on all of that, positive and negative, to come away from the Knicks five games in Las Vegas. Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the takeaways from the Knicks 2015 Las Vegas Summer League.

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