This is Trevor Keels' summer to show Knicks (and other NBA teams) what he can do
Trevor Keels of the New York Knicks in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 4, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
LAS VEGAS — In the opening minutes of Sunday’s Las Vegas Summer League game, Trevor Keels grabbed a rebound, raced the ball upcourt and made a move to the rim. But the Nets’ Armani Brooks jumped with him and swatted his shot, starting a break the other way.
Keels recovered, raced back and swiped a pass from speedy Kennedy Chandler. This time he set up the offense and drained a three-point field goal.
In that 20-second span, he put on the kind of display that the Knicks hope to see from him this summer as he tries to prove he someday can have a place at Madison Square Garden.
While the numbers he has put up aren’t eye-opening, what the Knicks and Summer League coach Dice Yoshimoto have asked of him is to be aggressive as he works his way through a transition from shooting guard to point guard.
“Yeah, so [Saturday] I kind of started off slow. Me and Dice watched film, talked about it, how I could be more aggressive playing [point guard],” Keels said. “So just picking my spots and play my game. Know who I am, play my game, know my strengths and stick to it. I felt like I did that better.”
“He did a good job today just to continue to get better,” Yoshimoto said. “Focus on everything he has each and every day, just to watch film, make a correction and get better for next game. He spent last year, most of the year, in G League. The only thing I want from him is to put everything he has into each and every day, focus on the daily improvement and get better each game.”
The only Knicks draft pick on the Summer League roster — and one of only two players on the entire roster to have been drafted by any team — Keels already finds himself on tenuous ground in New York.
He remained in the 2022 draft despite some push for him to return for a second year at Duke. He scored 25 points in his first college game against Kentucky but topped 20 points just once after that on a team that included three first-round picks.
Conditioning and weight questions nagged him after a poor showing in physical testing at the NBA Draft Combine.
But he stayed in the draft and the Knicks selected him in the second round with the 42nd overall pick.
Keels played only three games with the Knicks, totaling eight minutes of garbage time, and instead spent his rookie season almost exclusively in the G League with the Westchester Knicks, where he was pushed to a position change.
“They moved me to the point like middle of the season in the G League,” Keels said. “That’s where they want me at, so [I] focused on that.
“Me personally, I feel like I’m in a good spot, learning from Jalen Brunson, who’s just one of the best guards here. Him teaching me the ropes. We’ve got good vets on our team, a great team. They taught me a lot in year one. So I feel like I’m getting better every year, just progress. I practiced with them and I worked out with Jalen sometimes. Just him teaching me little things, how to use my body, how to use my athleticism. It’s great learning for me.”
But there are no assurances for Keels this season. The Knicks provided a qualifying offer for a two-way contract, but he essentially is a free agent right now as he shows his wares to not just the Knicks but the rest of the NBA.
“It’s super-important,” he said of his opportunity here. “I want to show my skills, show what I got, show how I can help the Knicks, show I’m a great fit for the Knicks. Just take it day by day and keep going.
“For me it’s good. Communication is the biggest thing, and the Knicks are great with that. They talk to me a lot. Coach [Tom Thibodeau] talks to me. And they’re always telling me what I need to work on, what I’m doing well. So the communication is great where I can focus and be patient and just know my role . . .
“They’re telling me] part of what Dice said, just being aggressive. Also, Coach Thibs loves defense, so [I’m] showing I can play defense, showing that I’m a dog that he saw that I was in college. Just show that every day, just show them that I’m consistent with that.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
