Knixkik wrote:

PatCummings wrote:

Knixkik wrote:

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.

McCullar shot 38% on catch and shoot 3’s last year in Westchester

We are talking a 10-game sample size right? I would need more than that considering his shooting has never been above average at any level. He may still be a player but the shooting is the swing skill that will determine if he’s an nba player or not.

You are not wrong. But the Knicks FO knows more about his shooting cause they see him shoot every day. Same as Deuce and others.

martin wrote:

PatCummings wrote:

Knixkik wrote:

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.

McCullar shot 38% on catch and shoot 3’s last year in Westchester

For me, backup center is the obvious last piece that the Knicks need to address for next season from a roster perspective. The domino effect of making that happen is probably my favorite thing to watch Leon and FO unfold that problem and I think it may include what is up with McCullar.

Regarding backup center, apart from a larger trade from now til training camp, it'll probably be solved in the short term with non guaranteed contracts and a training camp battle ala Shamet/Brogdon last year. IMHO, the FO needs to figure out the KAT and Hart extensions first and what their numbers look like beyond this year and THEN they will know how much cap space below the second apron they have to maneuver with in the upcoming years. KAT/Hart extensions are the first domino and priority, then they know the number of saving they have to work with below the second apron to resign guys like Deuce. Or if they decide to trade some of the current players for a better backup center, they know what they can extend THAT guy for (if that is the case).

I am sure they have a list of targeted backup C guys. Knicks could certainly just sign someone like Nick Richards in the short term or trade Dadiet and seconds and be done with it. So far, that is not the route. Perhaps because they want a better, longer term backup center they can grow with over multiple years and is just much better overall than the Dadiet+seconds route. If someone like Diabate is their favorite target (the same situation as OG when he was in Toronto), they need to back channel to Diabate to ask what his extension numbers are (and because of the KAT/Hart extensions will know if Diabate contract number fit in), ask him to kindly tell his current team he is gonna leave for nothing ala OG, and then also make a suitable trade offer to Charlotte. That's their track record process, give or take.

If you are trading for an upgraded backup center, you trade away whatever duplicate players you have on roster. Deuce, Kolek, Dadiet are really the only guys you can trade from now til December. Deuce has the highest value of any of those guys and his role is covered very well by Shamet. If Deuce is traded, McCullar is the one guy that can kinda sorta supplement Shamet and also replace Deuce's role on the team being a POA defender with the obvious caveat that he doesn't shoot as well from distance but would have other skill to bring to the table, like passing and facilitating and mid range stuff which Deuce is not so good at.

McCullar didn't play in the Knicks SL. He didn't play on ANY summer league team even though he does not have an NBA contract. Strange right? When is it not strange? When you have been told by Knicks FO to hold tight for a bit while things unfold? Maybe I'm dead wrong on that but then why hasn't McCullar shown up on any other teams 2-way deal or SL roster or anything? Maybe they think he sucks? GLeague play kinda shows he does not. So.....?

Anyway, that is one path the Knicks FO can take.

good work

It is logical the FO wants to formulate the cost of extending the core before offering multi-year anything to anyone new

It could be musical chairs for the C backup position from now until the trade deadline which also could mean we start the season with Deuce and Dadiet on the roster. I could be wrong, but I strongly doubt they are going to move Kolek

Also, like you, I suspect we may not have heard the last about McCullar. His contributions to this roster would be more additive than duplicative. Outside of C depth, he brings the perfect complementary skillset to this roster

martin wrote:And not for nothing but if you move Deuce for a backup C, McCullar and Nickel are 2 guys that cover the Deuce skill set.

Yes, with a major size upgrade. Kevin is 6'5' and Nickel is 6'7"

Deuce may be better suited to the midget guards, but Kev is an elite defender who could defend smaller shifty guards.

Nickel is tweener at his size, but for big guards and SF he can take some of those defensive assignments. He was very active on D in SL and much better than expected.

I'm pretty sure Nickel isn't going to waste too much time in making a name for himself

martin wrote:

BlueKnickers wrote:

martin wrote:

PatCummings wrote:

Knixkik wrote:

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.

McCullar shot 38% on catch and shoot 3’s last year in Westchester

For me, backup center is the obvious last piece that the Knicks need to address for next season from a roster perspective. The domino effect of making that happen is probably my favorite thing to watch Leon and FO unfold that problem and I think it may include what is up with McCullar.

Regarding backup center, apart from a larger trade from now til training camp, it'll probably be solved in the short term with non guaranteed contracts and a training camp battle ala Shamet/Brogdon last year. IMHO, the FO needs to figure out the KAT and Hart extensions first and what their numbers look like beyond this year and THEN they will know how much cap space below the second apron they have to maneuver with in the upcoming years. KAT/Hart extensions are the first domino and priority, then they know the number of saving they have to work with below the second apron to resign guys like Deuce. Or if they decide to trade some of the current players for a better backup center, they know what they can extend THAT guy for (if that is the case).

I am sure they have a list of targeted backup C guys. Knicks could certainly just sign someone like Nick Richards in the short term or trade Dadiet and seconds and be done with it. So far, that is not the route. Perhaps because they want a better, longer term backup center they can grow with over multiple years and is just much better overall than the Dadiet+seconds route. If someone like Diabate is their favorite target (the same situation as OG when he was in Toronto), they need to back channel to Diabate to ask what his extension numbers are (and because of the KAT/Hart extensions will know if Diabate contract number fit in), ask him to kindly tell his current team he is gonna leave for nothing ala OG, and then also make a suitable trade offer to Charlotte. That's their track record process, give or take.

If you are trading for an upgraded backup center, you trade away whatever duplicate players you have on roster. Deuce, Kolek, Dadiet are really the only guys you can trade from now til December. Deuce has the highest value of any of those guys and his role is covered very well by Shamet. If Deuce is traded, McCullar is the one guy that can kinda sorta supplement Shamet and also replace Deuce's role on the team being a POA defender with the obvious caveat that he doesn't shoot as well from distance but would have other skill to bring to the table, like passing and facilitating and mid range stuff which Deuce is not so good at.

McCullar didn't play in the Knicks SL. He didn't play on ANY summer league team even though he does not have an NBA contract. Strange right? When is it not strange? When you have been told by Knicks FO to hold tight for a bit while things unfold? Maybe I'm dead wrong on that but then why hasn't McCullar shown up on any other teams 2-way deal or SL roster or anything? Maybe they think he sucks? GLeague play kinda shows he does not. So.....?

Anyway, that is one path the Knicks FO can take.

good work

It is logical the FO wants to formulate the cost of extending the core before offering multi-year anything to anyone new

It could be musical chairs for the C backup position from now until the trade deadline which also could mean we start the season with Deuce and Dadiet on the roster. I could be wrong, but I strongly doubt they are going to move Kolek

Also, like you, I suspect we may not have heard the last about McCullar. His contributions to this roster would be more additive than duplicative. Outside of C depth, he brings the perfect complementary skillset to this roster

I think you are right on that, or at least I agree with you. GTA had an incredible playoff showing. And yet Kolek feels to me like the longer term gem. Maybe I’m wrong and it still don’t matter cause GTA could be that guy. Win win cause GTA signed for 3 years at about $5m per and was a playoff performer and that’s gold too.

Remember when Kolek played with Brunson and it worked really well?

I expect there will be another phase of experimentation in the first half of the season to find good combos

martin wrote:

BlueKnickers wrote:

martin wrote:

BlueKnickers wrote:

martin wrote:

PatCummings wrote:

Knixkik wrote:

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.

McCullar shot 38% on catch and shoot 3’s last year in Westchester

For me, backup center is the obvious last piece that the Knicks need to address for next season from a roster perspective. The domino effect of making that happen is probably my favorite thing to watch Leon and FO unfold that problem and I think it may include what is up with McCullar.

Regarding backup center, apart from a larger trade from now til training camp, it'll probably be solved in the short term with non guaranteed contracts and a training camp battle ala Shamet/Brogdon last year. IMHO, the FO needs to figure out the KAT and Hart extensions first and what their numbers look like beyond this year and THEN they will know how much cap space below the second apron they have to maneuver with in the upcoming years. KAT/Hart extensions are the first domino and priority, then they know the number of saving they have to work with below the second apron to resign guys like Deuce. Or if they decide to trade some of the current players for a better backup center, they know what they can extend THAT guy for (if that is the case).

I am sure they have a list of targeted backup C guys. Knicks could certainly just sign someone like Nick Richards in the short term or trade Dadiet and seconds and be done with it. So far, that is not the route. Perhaps because they want a better, longer term backup center they can grow with over multiple years and is just much better overall than the Dadiet+seconds route. If someone like Diabate is their favorite target (the same situation as OG when he was in Toronto), they need to back channel to Diabate to ask what his extension numbers are (and because of the KAT/Hart extensions will know if Diabate contract number fit in), ask him to kindly tell his current team he is gonna leave for nothing ala OG, and then also make a suitable trade offer to Charlotte. That's their track record process, give or take.

If you are trading for an upgraded backup center, you trade away whatever duplicate players you have on roster. Deuce, Kolek, Dadiet are really the only guys you can trade from now til December. Deuce has the highest value of any of those guys and his role is covered very well by Shamet. If Deuce is traded, McCullar is the one guy that can kinda sorta supplement Shamet and also replace Deuce's role on the team being a POA defender with the obvious caveat that he doesn't shoot as well from distance but would have other skill to bring to the table, like passing and facilitating and mid range stuff which Deuce is not so good at.

McCullar didn't play in the Knicks SL. He didn't play on ANY summer league team even though he does not have an NBA contract. Strange right? When is it not strange? When you have been told by Knicks FO to hold tight for a bit while things unfold? Maybe I'm dead wrong on that but then why hasn't McCullar shown up on any other teams 2-way deal or SL roster or anything? Maybe they think he sucks? GLeague play kinda shows he does not. So.....?

Anyway, that is one path the Knicks FO can take.

good work

It is logical the FO wants to formulate the cost of extending the core before offering multi-year anything to anyone new

It could be musical chairs for the C backup position from now until the trade deadline which also could mean we start the season with Deuce and Dadiet on the roster. I could be wrong, but I strongly doubt they are going to move Kolek

Also, like you, I suspect we may not have heard the last about McCullar. His contributions to this roster would be more additive than duplicative. Outside of C depth, he brings the perfect complementary skillset to this roster

I think you are right on that, or at least I agree with you. GTA had an incredible playoff showing. And yet Kolek feels to me like the longer term gem. Maybe I’m wrong and it still don’t matter cause GTA could be that guy. Win win cause GTA signed for 3 years at about $5m per and was a playoff performer and that’s gold too.

Remember when Kolek played with Brunson and it worked really well?

I expect there will be another phase of experimentation in the first half of the season to find good combos

Knicks just ****ing won in 5 and we all still have a lot to look forward to! Yessir. Defending the League Cup. Defending the championship. More Mo, mo money. Kolek. Perhaps Nickel. Knicks didn’t acquire that backup PG til deadline, and we got til then to argue about the best target backup C. More KAT Hub offense and witnessing the next iteration of it. More AI versions of the Turkey Breast delight.

In summary, the breast is yet to come

Kolek & Mo two man has potential for next season. Mo can focus more on being a finisher and catch and shoot recepient as he continues to work on his overall game.

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martin wrote:I think this is a fair statement about Kolek: For him to be a reliable role player on a playoff team, he needed to show the Knicks that he could 1) facilitate/run offense, 2) shoot from distance, 3) score when open, 4) not be Jose Calderon on defense, and 5) figure out how to navigate heavy ball pressure. Maybe another item would be fitting in next to Brunson.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kolekty01.html

Kolek was **** his first year statistically. Kolek only played 60 games last year but was an integral part of Xmas and League Cup and lots of other games? He was benched for the playoffs run. #1-4 seem not bad last year and it's just #5 that's left cause he absolutely showed the Knicks he can do minutes with Brunson either off or on ball. Am I close?

3rd year Kolek could be 3rd year Deuce level impact but at an entirely different position. If Kolek super shines, Knicks have the option to move GTA (it's near blasphemous for me to write that sentence during this summer quite honestly), and backfill the 3rd PG spot with Kayil.

If Kolek shines early, as soon as December hits, Deuce+GTA are now in your trade asset bank for a backup center. I hate typing that sentence.

We already made our pocket Nuyorican's dreams come true and everything else is gravy, so if he gets traded later we've already given him the memories and the bag.

I hope you're right and Kolek delivers, because his game can supercharge the team in the way only a competent pass first PG can. Jose is fun, but he's an energizer bunny first, PG second. Kolek is a real deal floor general. Bring it kid!

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martin wrote:Knicks bench will not include Jeremy

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We couldn’t win a chip for 53 years.

And all it took was four months of Jeremy.

This might be as devastating as trading Ewing for Glen Rice.

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