Insider JUST CONFIRMED Knicks Rookie's FUTURE... | Knicks News | The Knicks Recap Podcast

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
From Taco Night in Tulum to sushi in Tokyo, make every bite rewarding with gold from MX. Wherever you dine, four times the membership rewards points at restaurants worldwide are piling up. Learn more at americanexpress.com/explore-gold.
Terms and points cap apply.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:15)
Insurance isn't one size fits all. That's why drivers have enjoyed Progressive's Name Your Price tool for years now. With the Name Your Price tool, you tell them what you want to pay, and they'll show you options that fit your budget. So whether you're picking out your first policy or just looking for something that works better for you and your family, they make it easy to see your options. Visit progressive.com. Find a rate that works for you with the Name Your Price tool, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates Price and Coverage Match Limited by State Law.

**Troy Mahabir** (0:45)
If you really looked for it, you found it. Really in two players. Well, mainly one player, but I think to close out the game, Jack Kayil was actually pretty okay. He got better. So I'll say there were two bright spots. It was the rookies. It was Tyler Nickel and Jack Kayil. Those two kids were playing pretty good ball. But for Tyler Nickel, man, like I said, this kid is a steal for a reason. He can play.
He was already so good for New York yesterday. And today, he ends up playing even better. But you know what I loved about him?
It wasn't so much of his offense, which was there. It was good. Not as good from three today than he was yesterday. But he was still hitting the three. And I liked that. It was more about his effort, especially defensively. I've said this for a while. He's not the greatest defender. Can he play defense? Yes. But the reason he can play defense is because he gives effort. When you give effort, you're always going to play better, no matter what you do. He gives effort. I believe he had a block on the other end today. Now, they were talking to Bobby Marks at the time on the broadcast, so you probably didn't catch it. But if you were watching this game, he had a block during the game. He was actually even responsible for causing a jump ball early on in the game. His defense was pretty good today, and I think we need to give him credit for that. And with Tyler Nickel, we got that impact. I said it before, but I should say it again. New York stole this kid in the second round. The Knicks, they got themselves one in Tyler Nickel. The 47th pick, with the start in his second summer league game.
16 points, two blocks, and he was 4 of 11 from 3, 6 of 14 from the field. Those two blocks were sensational, especially his chase down block. Because when you look at him, you don't really think he's gonna be a chase down block type of guy. I didn't think he was gonna be a chase down block type of guy. But that's kind of what we saw there. And not for nothing, I was pretty hype and excited about that. Because personally for me, when you see this kid shoot, you know he can shoot. He's a walking bucket, he can hit the three, that translates instantly to the NBA level. And we know for a fact that Tyler Nickel, if he does get on the Knicks roster, that's gonna be his role, knocking down threes. But what helps me feel better about him, to let me not see him as another Steve Novak, is to watch how he plays on the other end. And the fact of the matter is, he didn't only make his points today by just shooting the three. He also had a running driving layup to actually make points as well. So he can attack when there's an open lane, he can cut, he can play defense, and he can shoot the ball.
This is exactly what I hope you could see out of this kid. I wanted to see more of his game, not just the three. And thankfully, we were able to see that tonight. This kid, Tyler Nickel, is the real deal. He's serious, folks. He can shoot, he can defend, he can block. I'm not saying his defense is something to write home about, but it's a lot better than some people are giving him credit for. Effort goes a long way, and if you play the right way, you do things the right way, good things will happen. And for The Knicks, at least for Tyler Nickel, that's what we were seeing today. And we talked about one rookie, we have to talk about the other. Jack Kayil, The Knicks' other rookie that they drafted, he made his summer league debut for The Knicks today. And like I said, while maybe he didn't start off the game right, his three ball needs a little bit of work, and clearly he needs to understand when to shoot the shot, and when to move the ball. He doesn't have that grasp yet, but once he does, he'll be a lot better. But for what we saw today, I mean, it wasn't really that bad, especially that dime pass, the Pecum D'Adieu, as he was cutting inside. That was a very beautiful pass. I like to see that. He also had a great slam dunk as he was running through the floor, got the ball in transition, and was able to bring it home. So there are a few things we saw about him. Today's game for New York in Summer League, he had 12 points, 2 threes, 5 rebounds, 3 of them offensive, mind you, 3 assists, and 2 steals.