The Knicks‘ regular-season rotation may have just grown deeper by a player. And if not their rotation, then their asset stash.

Pacome Dadiet looked the part in the Knicks’ Las Vegas Summer League opener, a 26-point loss to the Brooklyn Nets at the Thomas and Mack Center on Friday. The 25th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft scored a team-high 20 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the field and crashed the glass for seven rebounds in the losing effort.

The performance marked a positive development for a player who’d been outside of a stacked Knicks wing rotation with limited minutes behind the starting group of OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart. Dadiet has appeared in just 47 games over the first two seasons of his career and hadn’t shown signs of true development in his minimal opportunities through Year 2.

On Friday, however, the 20-year-old 6-9 Frenchman looked like a more polished NBA player. He made crisp, timely cuts to the paint and four of his seven boards came on the offensive glass. Dadiet shot just one-of-seven from downtown but also showcased an improved ability to score at the rim.

He and second-round pick Tyler Nickel, who had 18 points, were the only Knicks players to score in double figures against the Nets on Friday.

It was the kind of performance that could make head coach Mike Brown think about sporadic minutes in the name of self-preservation for a rotation he’ll want fresh for the playoffs.

Dadiet’s Summer League opener was also good news for a Knicks front office strapped both for cap space beneath the $222 million second apron and tradable assets: The French forward is virtually entering a contract year. It is the third season of his four-year rookie contract, and the Knicks hold a team option on Year 4, meaning it will be the Leon Rose front office’s call whether or not to retain Dadiet’s services another year or send him into free agency.

Complicating that matter is the pending pay raise: Dadiet makes $2.9 million this season but is scheduled to earn close to $5.4 million in Year 4. That’s a significant jump for a team with $192 million committed to its starting five plus looming contract extensions for their two stars, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson.

That’s tomorrow’s problem. On Friday, Dadiet answered questions. He has been learning. He has been growing. And he looked like a veteran on a floor full of young players.

Even if he doesn’t crack Brown’s rotation — the Knicks are in more dire need at the five after losing Mitchell Robinson and Towns — Dadiet can be included in a trade to a team that has minutes available.

DIAWARA’S NIGHTMARE

Second-year forward Mohamed Diawara got some of the worst possible looks from the field in Friday’s Summer League opener — and he better get used to it. Because late-shot clock openings are going to be the kinds of shots he gets in what could be an increased role in Year 2 with the Knicks.

Diawara shot one-of-nine from the field, one-of-seven from 3-point range and turned the ball over three times in 23 minutes. The second-year forward who signed a four-year, $11.2 million deal to return to the Knicks this summer finished the game an unfathomable minus-39.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The Knicks may have found another second-round gem.

Nickel, who the Rose-led front office selected 47th overall in the June NBA Draft, shot 6-of-10 from 3-point range for all 18 of his points in his Summer League debut. The 6-7 Vanderbilt product shot 40% from behind the arc in his senior season in college and could be a strong candidate for a two-way contract given the Knicks only have one more roster spot available beneath the second apron.

NO JACK

German guard Jack Kayil did not make his Summer League debut on Friday, and without the highly-touted 6-3 combo guard, the Knicks struggled to generate offense, mustering just nine points in a third quarter they lost by 21 points.

The Knicks acquired the rights to Kayil in a draft night trade with the Houston Rockets, who selected him 39th overall.