The Knicks officially announced the 2024 Las Vegas Summer League roster on Thursday, and the team, led by assistant Dice Yoshimoto, has a number of familiar faces both past and present.
All four Knicks rookies from the 2024 NBA Draft class are present on the roster, as are a number of players who’ll wear orange and blue with the hopes of showcasing their skills for a roster spot on one of 30 NBA teams for the 2024-25 season.
DAMION BAUGH | 6-3 GUARD | TCU | 23
Baugh played his college basketball at Texas Christian University and averaged 12.6 points, 5.8 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals in his senior year. He went undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft and joined the G-League’s South Bay Lakers, where he appeared in 24 games and averaged 13.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, three assists and 2.1 steals per game.
Baugh is a slasher who plays the passing lanes on defense. He is a below-average three-point shooter (27.9% last season with South Bay) but will shoot it if left open.
DEVIN CANNADY | 6-2, GUARD | ORLANDO MAGIC | 28
This aggressive three-point shooter joins the Knicks’ Summer League roster after two cup-of-coffee stints with the Orlando Magic. Wherever he goes, Cannady has the three-ball locked and loaded.
He shot it at a 40% clip over four years at Princeton and will let it fly under all circumstances: spot-up, off-the-dribble, out of a dribble-hand-off, wide-open, contested and with the game on the line.
SAMKELO CELE | 6-4 GUARD | 26 | South Africa
Samkelo Cele is an unorthodox three-level scorer who played college ball at three different schools (Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Marist and University of Science & Arts Oklahoma) before joining the Cape Town Tigers of the Basketball Africa League.
He averaged 20.2 points (second-best in his league) and 2.4 steals (third-best) as a two-way guard known for high-arcing layups and an aggressive scoring mindset.
PACOME DADIET | 6-8 FORWARD | FRANCE | 18
The Knicks selected Pacome Dadiet with the 25th overall pick in the June NBA Draft.
Dadiet is an 18-year-old prospect whose size at 6-8, 215 pounds and shooting stroke makes for a quality candidate for New York’s player development team to morph into a serviceable role player at the NBA level.
Dadiet played high-level Eurocup basketball for German club Ratiopharm Ulm. He is a confident shooter both in spot-up and off-the-dribble situations, and on draft night, he said he molded his game after vaunted NBA scorer Kevin Durant.
Dadiet also has good cutting instincts and can finish at the rim with force. He could be scary when he fully grows into his 6-8 frame.
ALAN GRIFFIN | 6-5 FORWARD | WESTCHESTER | 24
The son of longtime NBA player and former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin, Alan Griffin is a three-and-D wing who shot 37 percent from three-point range over three seasons at Syracuse. He averaged 13.3 points, 1.6 blocks and 1.2 steals as a senior but has not been able to stick on a G-League team.
The Westchester Knicks waived him in 2022.
ARIEL HUKPORTI | 7-FOOT, 245-POUND CENTER | GERMANY | 22
Maybe Ariel Hukporti is the answer to the Knicks’ questions at the center spot.
With Isaiah Hartenstein signing a lucrative deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Knicks are in search of center help behind Mitchell Robinson, and Hukporti, the 58th and final pick of the June draft, is a seven-foot phenom with elite athleticism. He has noteworthy footwork on the low block around the rim, likely attributed to playing soccer as a kid until his first growth spurt, and has bad intentions both finishing at and protecting the rim.
Hukporti ruptured his Achilles and missed the entire 2022 season with Melbourne United of the NBL.
ROKAS JOKUBAITIS | 6-4 GUARD | LITHUANIA | 23
The Knicks selected Rokas Jokubaitis at pick No. 34 in the 2021 NBA Draft, two spots ahead of where they took Miles McBride at No. 36. Jokubaitis played minimally in the 2021 Summer League before joining Euroleague contender Barcelona for two seasons.
Now after the Lithuanian men’s national basketball team has been eliminated from the Olympic qualifiers, the crafty 6-4 guard is back with the Knicks. He is an off-the-dribble scorer and crafty finisher at the rim who likes to pull-up from mid-range.
AMARI KELLY | 6-9 FORWARD-CENTER | GEORGE MASON | 24
Amari Kelly played five college basketball seasons: Two at Duquesne and two more at UNC Wilmington before transferring to George Mason for his final year of COVID-19 eligibility. The skilled forward shot 42% from three as a senior and went undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Kelly does much of his damage out of the low post and at the rim.
TYLER KOLEK | 6-3 GUARD | MARQUETTE | 23
The Knicks took Tyler Kolek out of Marquette with their second pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, selecting the 23-year-old guard 34th-overall in late June. He is a floor general and a confident three-point shooter who shot 40% and 39% from three in his junior and senior seasons and averaged 15.3 points, 7.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game before declaring for the draft.
Kolek has a chance to crack the rotation as the third guard on New York’s roster behind Jalen Brunson and McBride and will use Summer League to make his case.
JUSTIN LEWIS | 6-7 FORWARD | MARQUETTE | 22
Justin Lewis is a 6-7 athlete with a 7-2 wingspan. He went undrafted in 2022 after two seasons in Marquette, then tore his ACL after joining the Chicago Bulls on a two-way contract and missed the entire 2022-23 season.
Lewis played 24 games for the Salt Lake City Stars last season and averaged 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.
KEVIN MCCULLAR JR | 6-7 FORWARD | KANSAS | 23
The Knicks got Kevin McCullar Jr. in the second round with the 54th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. He is a solid athlete averaged 19.1 points per game on 46.4% shooting from the field with the Jayhawks last season, dealing the majority of his damage at the rim.
McCullar is also a capable three-point shooter, particularly from the left corner, where he shot 45% last season. He was projected to go earlier in the second round, making his selection a steal for New York.
OBADIAH NOEL | 6-4 GUARD | BASKETBALL AFRICA LEAGUE | 25
Obadiah Noel just wrapped his third G-League season and second consecutive for the Westchester Knicks. He averaged 13.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 29.7 minutes for Westchester last season. Noel is a slasher who finds creative ways to finish at the rim.
ALEX O’CONNELL | 6-6 FORWARD | STOCKTON KINGS | 25
Alex O’Connell joins the Knicks Summer League roster after a five-year career split between Duke and Creighton. He played for the Sacramento Kings’ Summer League team last year, spent the 2022-23 season with the G-League’s Stockton Kings, then joined Liga Basket Serie A squad Reyer Venezia.
DMYTRO SKAPINTSEV | 7-1 CENTER | UKRAINE | 26
Amid a rash of injuries, the Knicks called up Dmytro Skapintsev from the G-League affiliate Westchester Knicks last season, but he logged just one minute each game. Still, he is a skilled seven-footer who can protect the paint and finish around the rim.
JACOB TOPPIN | 6-8 FORWARD | KNICKS | 24
The Knicks traded Obi Toppin away to the Indiana Pacers but signed his younger brother, Jacob Toppin, who split his time his rookie season between Madison Square Garden and Westchester in the G-League. The younger Toppin is just as athletic as his older brother, but made it a point to note they are not the same person or player.
DUANE WASHINGTON JR. | 6-2 GUARD | KNICKS | 24
Despite Julius Randle praising Duane Washington Jr.’s leadership in Charleston, S.C. during Knicks training camp last season, the playmaking guard didn’t make the final roster and ultimately signed a two-way contract with the Knicks. It was his third time signing a two-way deal in New York, but the cool, calm and collected scoring guard may be due for his NBA moment soon.
