NBA

Why Cleanthony Early hasn’t sold Phil as Carmelo’s backup

The player many regard as the steal of the second round so far hasn’t been the boon of the Las Vegas summer league.

Knicks rookie Cleanthony Early, selected 34th out of the Bronx and Middletown via Wichita State, still must show the Knicks he can be Carmelo Anthony’s backup at small forward. Early is the only legitimate small forward on the Knicks roster, and team president Phil Jackson is hoping he can fill the bill.

Nevertheless, Jackson also has investigated adding another small forward to the band.

“Early’s looking good, but he’s still green,’’ Jackson said.

Early has played in two of the first three summer league games, missing the last one with a sprained ankle. Early is expected to play Thursday when the Knicks start the knockout round of summer-league action against the winner of the Denver-D-League select game.

Early scored 13 points in the opener, hitting 3-of-4 shots from 3-point range, and highlighted his day with a driving dunk over veteran Ivan Johnson, but he struggled with his shot in Game 2, going 3-of-8.

“He still hasn’t shown he wants to put the ball on the floor,’’ one NBA scout told The Post. “But his defense is good. He plays hard.’’

Early will go down as Jackson’s first draft pick as an executive. The Knicks had Early on their board anywhere from the 16th pick to the 23rd.

Early is so enthusiastic about working under Jackson, he’s reading one of Jackson’s many books to, as Early said, “get a head start.’’

“I think a lot of people like Early, and I think one of the hesitations is, in this weird world we’re in now, is that he is 23 years old,’’ Jackson said on an MSG Network broadcast this week. “People are looking for 19-, 20-year-old players to come in, and we said we want a mature player. Get a guy that maybe … can step in the lineup and start playing. A lot of kids, they are still developing physically. He is a developed player physically.’’

Scouts, however, believe Early must get stronger and still has a lot to prove in Las Vegas and training camp.

Despite his critics, nobody can wipe the smile off Early’s face.

“I smile all the time,’’ Early said. “I’m happy. I live life.’’


The Knicks drafted Greece’s Thanasis Antetokounmpo at No. 52 to stash in Europe, but they also have another option if he prefers to stay in the US with his family.

The defensive-minded swingman, who showed his rawness with seven fouls in the summer league opener, still can play in the D-League without costing a Knicks roster spot as long as he’s unsigned. They keep his rights and he would make the $30,000 D-league max.

Antetokounmpo’s entire family moved to Milwaukee, where younger brother Giannis — known as the Greek Freak — plays for the Bucks.

“He is ‘Thanacious,’ which is the name I call him,’’ Jackson said. “Obviously, that is going to be his nickname, right? He is just a ball of fire. He still has to learn how to play, but he brings a certain energy that you just can’t replace on the floor.’’


Mark Bartelstein, agent for 7-footer Jason Smith, told The Post his client should be “a great fit’’ because he “passes well and is a pick-and-pop guy.”

Smith’s market value would have been higher than the $3.72 million mini mid-level he signed for, but he had knee surgery in early February, ending his season and marking him as injury-prone.

Bartelstein said Smith wanted a one-year deal to lift his market value and said the Pelicans couldn’t sign him after they made the Omer Asik trade.

“He protects the rim, plays with great physicality, takes the hard foul, he’s a really good basketball player,’’ Bartelstein said.