Trevor Keels, the 42nd pick of last month’s draft, has signed a two-way contract with the Knicks, the team announced (via Twitter).
The news was anticipated, as Ian Begley of SNY.tv reported last month that Keels was likely to receive a two-way contract once Jericho Sims was promoted to a standard deal, which occurred yesterday. New York’s two-way slots are now full, with Feron Hunt occupying the other.
Keels was one of the youngest players in the draft at just 18 years old and won’t turn 19 until late next month. He spent a single college season at Duke, averaging 11.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 36 games (30.2 minutes per contest).
At 6’4″ and 221 pounds, Keels is a combo guard, with some scouts questioning his conditioning, which may have impacted his draft status. He was considered a fringe first-round pick but ultimately fell to the middle of the second round.
Another knock against Keels was his efficiency, as he posted a .419/.312/.670 shooting line with the Blue Devils. That has carried over to Summer League action thus far, with Keels shooting just 3-18 through a couple of games.
However, Keels is young, physically strong, and considered a versatile player on both ends of the court, with a knack for making good decisions. He was also a highly-touted prospect entering college and was the third-leading scorer on a stacked Duke team that reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament.
If Keels remains on a two-way deal for all of 2022/23, he’ll earn about $509K, be limited to 50 games in the regular season and ineligible for the postseason. He will need to be promoted to a standard contract at some in order to be playoff-eligible.
Should’ve stayed at Duke.
Yup….same thought. Got terrible advice if anyone told him to come out.
Didn’t know he was that young. Kids got a future. Has a tough body already. Under this FO. Knicks have done well going after guys in their G-league. Not as good as Miami. But much better than before. Mitch was a 2nd rd pick. Sims was a 2 nd rd pick. McBride was a 2nd rd pick.
He would have gotten worse advice listening to the posters on this board. No basketball reason to go back to Duke specifically, and a transfer is likely a waste of time for him. Duke has an historic recruiting class coming in, and it includes two wing players that will likely be drafted in the top 5 of next year’s draft.
Good point ….
They always have “historic recruiting” classes. It’s Duke.
He still got terrible advice.
No, they don’t have an historic class every year. You obviously don’t follow CBB much, or CBB recruiting at all, if you can’t distinguish a typical high ranked Duke recruiting class and the current incoming one. Again, fortunately for Keels, he has more knowledgeable people than you advising him.
As a result, he’ll spend next year in an NBA organization motivated to develop him, have unlimited resources and time at his disposal, get a full professional season of starter minutes in the G-league, and selective time in the NBA. Oh yeah, and being paid 500K for the privilege. You would have advised him to be a rotational player in a college program for 30-ish games with limited practice time, and get paid nothing.
Yes, but if he stayed another year at Duke, and then got drafted in the first round of the 2023 draft, he would make way more money over the two years compared to the path he actually choose.
Only if he were a high first round pick, which is unlikely. Three years at league minimum is about the same as two years as a lower first rounder. A lot of it comes down to where he thinks he can best develop from here. Duke’s the better platform to show his existing skills to the basketball world if he’s a key player, but even then, they can’t provide the development resources that professional teams can. No single right answer for all kids, and I’m talking just basketball. Some kids (although few NBA types) actually want to go to school. Others don’t want the pressure of being a professional. But, guys like Keels aren’t staying more than 2 years in any case, and with next year being uncertain as to role and PT, I think (all other things being equal) coming out now makes the most sense. It’s not like he wasn’t drafted.
Keel is only 18, could grow taller. He needs to get into shape tho. Good motor and energy and he competes. But also he has a lot to learn. An entire season in G League will serve him well…Sims with that euro spin move was gorgeous. He showed an ability to rebound and push with the dribble. Brings a different skill set to the Knick bigs. Sign Hunt to a standard deal & give the last 2-way spot to Jeffries.