Pacôme Dadiet entered Summer League with plenty on the line, but his run in Las Vegas didn’t give the Knicks much reason to feel better about where things stand.
New York was hoping for a breakout that could help Dadiet’s standing inside the organization and maybe even nudge his trade value upward. Instead, the opposite happened. He left Vegas looking like a player who still hasn’t done enough to separate himself from the rest of the Knicks’ young group, and that makes the path forward a lot messier.
Dadiet did finish as New York’s leading scorer in Summer League at 15.3 points per game, but the production came with plenty of baggage. He shot just 36.4% from the field while taking 13.8 attempts per game, more than anyone else on the roster.
From deep, the numbers were even rougher: 16.0% on 6.3 three-point attempts per game. The volume was there.
The efficiency wasn’t.
The results showed up everywhere else, too. Dadiet was on the floor for four games, and New York lost each one he played in by margins that showed up in the plus-minus column: -4, -9, -21 and -12. The one game he missed was also the Knicks’ only win in Summer League.
There was at least some reason to think Dadiet might be able to make noise in Vegas. He had just put together a strong G League season in the 2025-26 campaign, averaging 23.1 points on 46.6% shooting.
But that only made this showing feel more frustrating. Against lesser competition, he never really took over the way the Knicks would have wanted.
That matters because New York has already invested real draft capital and roster time in him. Dadiet was a first-round pick, and the Knicks have kept him on the roster for two years. At some point, potential has to turn into something more concrete, and this Summer League didn’t move him any closer to that line.
It also complicates the Knicks’ roster math. The team has other young players in Mohamed Diawara, Tyler Kolek, Tyler Nickel and even Jack Kayil, and if New York wants to keep sorting out its developmental priorities, Dadiet looks like the most obvious candidate to move on from.
The problem is that Vegas didn’t help his market. He showed some ability attacking the basket, but not enough to make teams line up for his nearly $3 million 2026-27 salary.
If the Knicks had gotten a strong Summer League from him, they might have been able to sell him as a meaningful piece or use him to help solve another roster issue. Now, he looks more like a throw-in than a headline.
So New York may have to wait, let this stretch fade from memory, and revisit the trade market later. That creates its own risk if the Knicks are eyeing targets that might not be available down the road.
For now, the reality is pretty plain: the Knicks put their faith in Dadiet and picked up his option for this season, and this Summer League did not make that decision look any easier to live with.
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