New York Knicks Summer League Roster

I'm going to try and keep these roster previews going, although since Scott is unavailable in Vegas (though I hear he's not "unavailable"...ladies?) there may come a point where I can't get several of these, plus a daily review, plus a daily preview done.  For now, though, let's keep it going with a rather interesting Knicks roster.

For a breakdown of other NBA Summer League rosters, check these out: New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz,Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers,Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns.

For the rest of the Vegas Summer League rosters, refer to this post.

2010 New York Knicks Summer League Roster

(via nba.com)

As a reminder, we haven't been talking about players with guaranteed roster spots in this series, so no Toney Douglas, Bill Walker, Landry Fields or Andy Rautins (technically, Walker's contract is unguaranteed but you should know who he is by now).  Posting and Toasting is your one-stop shop for information about those players, especially Landry Fields.

The players will be listed by position, then by the likelihood of their making an(y) NBA roster this season.

Big Men

Chris Hunter, PF/C, Michigan - The Knicks are familiar with Hunter, having called him up from the D-League at the end of the 2008-2009 season and having him in training camp at the beginning of last season.  They didn't keep him around, but the Golden State Warriors did, calling him up this past year as an injury replacement.  Hunter played 60 games for the Warriors, including nine starts, and he acquitted himself reasonably well.  He had an effective field goal percentage of .502, and while his advanced defensive stats aren't great he had some nice performances on that end (and played hurt himself for a number of games, which probably affected his defense).  I'm not sure the Knicks will keep him around with Earl Barron also theoretically in the fold, but Hunter has shown he can be a solid NBA bench contributor.

Charles Garcia, PF/C - Seattle University - Garcia is a talented big man with a variety of skills, but unfortunately he struggled much of last season as defenses adjusted to his hot start.  He also appeared to get to the free throw line less and less as the season went on.  Turnovers also have been a problem, due in part to the fact that he brought the ball up court a fair amount for Seattle.  DraftExpress called him "a cross between Andray Blatche and Lamar Odom," but with Anthony Randolph in the house I wonder if the Knicks will take on another, somewhat similar project.  A strong Summer League showing, though, could entice another NBA team to do so.

Leo Lyons, PF, Missouri - A versatile offensive player, Lyons has some problems with his jump shot and on defense.  Post defense in particular is an issue, as he doesn't really box out or deny positioning all that well.  He's also been knocked for a lack of awareness on both ends.  All that is to say, he's talented but needs work.  The D-League is perfect for guys like that.

Eric Boateng, C, Arizona State - Boateng is British, went to high school in Delaware, went to Duke and transferred to Arizona State.  So he's been around a bit.  He shot 66.5 percent from the field as a senior, though I don't imagine he was shooting a lot of jumpers.  The number three center prospect in the country coming out of high school, I don't think it bodes particularly well that I can't find many write-ups of his game even though he was at the Portsmouth Invitational.  He saw a big jump in his playing time as a senior at ASU, which mostly accounts for his jump in stats, though it does look like he improved a little on his own.  He's a member of the British national team, so he may go play in Europe after this week, but given the number of British national team connections in the D-League (Rio Grande Valley head coach Chris Finch is the BNT head coach and Iowa head coach Nick Nurse is a BNT assistant), that could be an option as well.

Warren Carter, PF, Illinois - I rather like Carter, and he potentially could be higher on this list, but I have a feeling he'll go back to Europe this year.  I don't think much has changed from when he was on the Knicks' 2009 Summer League team, so here's a recap of what I said then: "Carter was a backup at the University of Illinois and has spent the last few years playing around Europe, but he's a very good rebounder.  He led the Knicks' Summer League team in that category on a per-minute basis, and the fact that he's back here makes me think the team might be giving him an honest shot at making the team.  Rebounding is pretty much all he does, but perhaps the team sees him as a budget David Lee (or the new Jared Jeffries?) for their bench."

Wings

Carlos Powell, SF, South Carolina - Powell has been one of the best players in the D-League for the past few seasons before taking his game to China mid-year.  He has a well-rounded game, is a very good passer for a forward and a pretty good rebounder.  I'm not really sure what happened to his outside shot last year, but he's been a good three-point shooter in the past as well (40 percent in 2007-2008).  Powell definitely can contribute in the NBA, and I think his versatility would serve him well in the Knicks' offense.

Ron Howard, G/F, Valparaiso - Another player the Knicks are familiar with from Summer Leagues past, Howard became a better offensive player last season in the D-League after being a defensive specialist for several years.  His overall field goal percentage dropped a bit, but he suddenly became a pretty good outside shooter (.385) after missing all 16 of his previous three-point attempts, which were spread out over two seasons.  His assists and rebounds also increased, though so did his turnovers; I'm not quite ready to say he's an NBA player without qualification as I am with Powell, but he's very very close, and it's another testament to the very good work Fort Wayne has done developing talent over the last few years.

Marcus Landry, G/F, Wisconsin - I'd probably put Landry above Howard and maybe even Powell under normal circumstances, though he had kind of a rough Orlando Summer League so his stock has dropped a bit.   Landry got some NBA experience playing for the Knicks and Celtics (very briefly, in the latter case), and while he showed a pretty good three-point shot in the D-League, last week in Orlando he was foul-prone and a bit of a gunner.

Patrick Ewing Jr., SF, Georgetown - Ewing's another guy I might've listed before Howard if not for a poor Orlando Summer League performance.  Ewing has dealt with injury issues throughout his pro career, including missing the last year and a half or so with an MCL sprain, but when healthy he's an excellent rebounder for his position, has some shot-blocking ability and has been able to get into the lane and score.  Unfortunately, he decided to take a lot of poor shots in Orlando, possibly encouraged by the Magic's Summer League coach, Patrick Ewing Sr.  Seriously, after the first game when Ewing Jr. needed 17 shots to score 15 points, Ewing Sr. said his son had a good game and that he needed more of a scorer's mentality.  I know you're not going to criticize your kid on national TV, especially with him standing next to you, but come on.  That's not Ewing Jr.'s game, and I'm starting to worry it may have cost him a bit.

Ryan Wittman, SF, Cornell - Wittman already played in Orlando with the Celtics, only he didn't play a whole lot and wasn't particularly good there, so I'll just re-print Scott's blurb on him from the Boston roster rundown: "Wittman is the prototype coach's son - great shooter, smart player, good leader and able to help everyone else on the team get better.  That actually makes sense because Wittman is the son of NBA coach Randy Wittman (I believe most recently as head coach in Minnesota?).

Here's the problem with Wittman - he's wholly unathletic.  He'll give it his best, but unfortunately he just won't have the lateral quickness and strength to guard most small forwards in the NBA.  Pluses and minuses aside, Wittman will probably have a long professional basketball playing career - though it might not be in the NBA, as he has already been rumored to have a deal set up in Switzerland."

Guards

JayCee Carroll, G, Utah State - Unlike the last few players I've mentioned, Carroll actually played pretty well in Orlando.  He struggled with his three-point shot for the most part, but found ways to score efficiently overall.  His size is a bit of an issue, but he's shown that he can score both in college and in Europe, so with another good performance this week he could earn a training camp invite.

Olu Famutimi, SG, Arkansas - Famutimi has been a pro for five years at this point, getting a few training camp invites but spending the bulk of his career in the D-League and Europe.  He shot 44 percent from outside and averaged 17 points a game in the Turkish league last year, both of which show he's gotten better over his career, but heading back to Europe is the most likely route he takes after Summer League ends.