Knicks’ Tyler Kolek thinks skillset is ‘little closer’ to Jalen Brunson’s than ‘lazy’ comparison

LAS VEGAS — Tyler Kolek isn’t the biggest fan of the T.J. McConnell comparison.

“It’s all right,” said the second-round pick acquired on draft day by the Knicks last month. “I think it’s a little lazy.”

Left unsaid was that McConnell, like Kolek, is a white player, and white players tend to get lumped together when projections are thrown around (Next up is Cooper Flagg to Larry Bird).

It’s not that Kolek is upset by a comparison to a nine-year NBA veteran — “I admire [McConnell],” he said Sunday — but the point guard feels his methodical offense is more akin to another second-round pick, Jalen Brunson.

“His game, I feel like that’s a little closer to what I like to do than T.J. McConnell: play at my own pace, getting in the paint, getting guys involved,” Kolek said. “I can really learn from him in the midrange, in that short area when I’m coming off ball screens or isolations. I’m just really excited to learn from him and watch him and take as much as I can.”

Kolek was the most impressive of the Knicks’ three rookies in their summer league opener Saturday, a close defeat to the Hornets that became a struggle for first-round pick Pacome Dadiet, in particular.