BlueKnickers wrote:

Knixkik wrote:

BlueKnickers wrote:

JBGoat wrote:

BlueKnickers wrote:

JBGoat wrote:K

BlueKnickers wrote:

JBGoat wrote:GTA5
Deuce/JC
Shamet
Drummond

That's the bench outlook right now. Everyone else is fighting for minutes until proven otherwise. Kolek should see more time but, that remains to be seen. No one else has earned anything yet and we don't really know what the final roster looks like.

Mo D still looks VERY raw.
Dadiet still looks soft.
Nickel looks promising in summer league but, it's summer league.
Kayil? Not impressed yet.

Not everyone of these guys is making the team if we want to sign another center. My biggest issue is we still don't have ANYONE taller than 6'5 to backup OG. Hoping one of the kids develop but, as of now we have questions about them.

Both Deuce and Dadiet could be moved at any time before the season or before the trade deadline.

There may be more room than at present.

Either they stash Kayil or sign him on a two way deal. If not they have to trade someone into cap space to clear a spot for a 3rd center. Kolek/Deuce/Dadiet are certainly options for that move.

We are guard heavy and no proven length on the bench besides Drummond. Nickel/Mo D/Dadiet are the only options in that regard. We just won a championship with the same issue though. I just would prefer to get a little more length from our bench.

It only makes sense to sign Nickel to a regular contract, because unless he is considered merely as a future trade asset then he will not benefit at all playing in Westchester. He's the one guy in this group you plug in and play immediately.

I agree that Kayil is likely either a two-way or a stash. Two-way gives him experience with the main club so that's a good solution if he shows some more flashes in the next two games. I cannot see him getting a regular contract this year though.

Shamet is 6'5" and Nickel is 6'7". Shamet turned into a plus defender this season. Nickel looks competent enough. They bring some defensive size and scoring off the bench if Mo falls out of the rotation.

I've been hanging on for them to sign up McCullar. He's 6'5" and is a beast on defense and gives you an above average handle in the backcourt. He is a better distributer than either Deuce or Alvarado. He solves the size issue. But he's the one we hear nothing about so I'm hoping that means they're waiting to finish their moves before they sign him back. I have no idea if they want him back, but he looks perfect for this roster. He's ready to play.

Dadiet's contract next season is a team option at $5.73M so I think they will move him and Deuce. I'm assuming SL is to showcase him as an asset, not so he can secure a place in the rotation.

Therefore, if you move Dadiet and Deuce, that frees up two spots and $7.3M in salary this season. With that plus the remainging cap space they have left they can secure a C and sign Nickel and McCullar to regular deals.

Nickel can shoot and seems to have some IQ on both ends. Definitely looks better than everyone else including Mo D so far. He will most likely get a reg deal.

Kayil looked a little better later in the game but, he's gotta show more to get a reg deal.

McCullar just couldn't stay healthy enough and never gained any traction. I don't think we will see him back unless he is willing to take another two way deal. Really wanted to see more from him.

Kolek is going to be an NBA rotation player but. I don't know if that will be with us. We simply have too many guards. Trading Deuce may be an option and a two for one trade with Deuce and Dadiet would probably mean we keep Kolek.

There's plenty of time for the team to figure this out and I trust they will make competent decisions filling out the back end of the roster. Leon is always making moves and he has shown the ability to correct mistakes without hurting the team. I'll patiently wait and see what happens. The first time in forever that we don't have to fret over what we need to win a title. Now we just need to figure out how to repeat. We are fairly deep but, most of it is basically guards/players 6'5 and under.

Brunson/GTA/Kolek
Mikal/Deuce/JC
Hart/Shamet

That's half the team and most of the rotation 6'5 or less. I think Mikal is 6'6 but, close enough.

McCullar's first year was set aside for recovery. They drafted him knowing this.

It is not that he couldn't stay healthy. He didn't get reinjured.

He completed his recovery the first year and played last year as a two-way.

Again, I don't know if he factors into their plans, but I believe most people are sleeping on him.

McCullar was an end of second round guy. He still hasn’t developed any sort of consistent shooting ability. Unfortunately it’s unlikely he’s in the nba much longer. He’s already 25.

The Knicks roster is hard to crack, so your default analysis is he isn't even an NBA player. Such a lazy assumption on your part

Not sure why that was your takeaway. He was a late second round pick who dropped due to a knee injury that apparently was worse than they let on. I watched him a bunch in college and he doesn’t seem to be as athletic as he was then. Ontop of it the shooting hasn’t come around at any level. I think he can be useful for spot defensive duties but I just have a hard time seeing a path to a legit NBA roster spot. Problem is he’s not eligible for a 2nd round exception contract either, so a team would have to see enough to sign him to a standard minimum. I don’t have a default analysis for him. Nothing to do with the Knicks. I’m judging him off what I have seen from him in both college and nba. He can still make it but he will have to start proving it in the gleague.