Trevor

Keels

With the Heat summer league team as a free agent, Keels has been diagnosed with a sprained MCL in his right knee and will not play again this week. While his absence won’t impact fantasy basketball for next season, the former second-round pick loses out on opportunities to further prove himself worthy of a training camp invitation at a minimum.

In late June, the Heat decided not to tender Keels a two-way qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent. Miami still has two open two-way slots, and Keels is making a case for one to be his. He got off to a hot start, scoring 15 points in the first half on 6-of-6 shooting from the field. Accuracy-wise, Keels “cooled off” in the second half, shooting 6-of-13 from the field and scoring another 17 points. Due to the contract situation, Keels may not be a shutdown candidate, but he has a chance to solidify his status as an NBA player, whether with the Heat or another team.

Keels didn’t log any NBA minutes last season but notched 13.5 points and 3.5 assists per game with the Iowa Wolves.

Keels has been around the Knicks’ organization for the past year after they drafted him with the No. 42 pick. He even signed a two-way deal with them after a solid Summer League performance. However, they waived him, and he’ll have a chance to earn a deal with Minnesota in training camp. However, even if he earns one, it’ll likely only be a two-way deal, which won’t allow him to make a mark on the fantasy landscape this season.

Less than a week after it was reported that the Knicks were re-signing Keels to another two-way contract, he’s reportedly being waived. The move will free up a spot for Dylan Windler, who was signed to a two-way deal Monday afternoon. Windler, Nathan Knight, and Jaylen Martin have agreed to two-way deals with the team. The Knicks do retain Keels’ G League rights, so he may not be completely done with the organization despite Monday’s news.

The Knicks signed Keels to a two-way contract on two separate cases last season, most recently doing so in March. He’ll begin next season on a similar deal, joining Jaylen Martin and Nathan Knight as the Knicks players on two-way deals. Keels, who appeared in three NBA games last season, averaged 10.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.6 3-pointers in 22.4 minutes per game in five appearances at the NBA2K24 Summer League earlier this month.

Keels has been a decent scoring option for the Knicks this summer, which continued against Denver on Saturday. After being selected with the 42nd pick in the 2022 draft, Keels spent his rookie year on a two-way with the Knicks. He only played a total of eight minutes over three games for New York, and he likely won’t play much more next season.

Keels stepped up with his best performance of Summer League on Friday, with the solid stat line bolstered by the fact that he committed just one turnover. And with the action in Las Vegas winding down, there aren’t many opportunities left to show that he’s worthy of a guaranteed contract. The Knicks extended a two-way qualifying offer to Keels just before the start of free agency, making him a restricted free agent. His status won’t impact fantasy basketball for next season, especially if the Knicks hold onto him.

Keels’ absence won’t impact the Knicks’ rotation. Unfortunately for him, this represents a missed opportunity, as multiple key contributors have been ruled out for the final game of the regular season.

Brown agreed to a two-way contract with the Knicks on March 8, spending the majority of his time with the team’s G League affiliate. This transaction won’t impact fantasy basketball, but Brown should get a shot with another team. In a corresponding move, the Knicks will re-sign Trevor Keels to a two-way contract.