Knicks Draft Kevin McCullar (56) and Ariel Hukporti (58)

[Kampuchea]

I thought it was widely reported after the Mikal trade that the Knicks were likely out on Ihart? But the Knicks didn’t know? That’s silly

[Jalen Bluntson]

It seems like he was sure looking for the bigger 'roll' of $30milper but not sure how much a bigger 'role' he's going to get on a Thunder squad that has Shai, JDub, Chet and plenty of shooters all around. His role there will be much like it was here late last season.

He got an expanded role with the Knicks when Mitch went down...that's how he got that bag in FA. If you mean he wants to shoot 3s, well, that's not like he's going to be a focal point of the offense there, probably just given a green light to hoist up a couple a game.

Also, I'm not sure why some still doubt this FO and act like people on the internet from their couches see something these professionals don't. They took a wreckage of a franchise and turned it into a winner so I'm going to give them some benefit of the doubt that they have a plan.

Obviously they are limited by what the market has to offer and the cap restraints to replace him otherwise they'd have matched that OKC offer. I'm sure we'd love for them to have the perfect piece at the perfect price lined up right away but it may not happen that way.

They couldn't match the offer even if they wanted to. In the meantime the market dried up and they haven't done anything. The plan now seems to be wait and see what they can find on the scrap heap or bring back Precious if they can. They are hard capped at the 2nd apron now so there's really not much else they can do. Hukporti is not the plan. He's on a two way deal now.

Really seems like they didn't have any piece at any price lined up. Which is a little disappointing. It also makes it appear that they weren't expecting to lose him. It's not crazy to think it's a possibility they were caught off guard. They certainly didn't act with any sense of urgency to fill the hole he left. If they were expecting him to leave wouldn't they have something lined up immediately?

All we can do now is wait and see. I find it hard to believe they trust Mitch to stay healthy and Sims to be backup. Makes very little sense.

Yea, I said the cap restraints limited them that's why they couldn't match it, thanks for repeated what I said back to me as if I didn't say it. I appreciate you agreeing with me on that point.

So by 'market dried up' you mean most of the options signed for more money than they could have offered anyway. In my estimation the only real option that would have fit the criteria was Drummond and they would have had to offer the full TPMLE to beat the Sixers offer. Sure, they could have sold him on the idea that he'll get plenty of playing time with a chance to start behind an often injured starter like he is in Philly so that is really the only big miss out player.

Everything else was scrap heap options anyway, along the lines of Bamba, Wiseman and the other reclamation projects. Not sure that securing them on vetmins was going to beef up the rotation more than Precious or Reed will. Although, it may have been a slightly less risky proposition than hoping Sims figures it out or Huk can fill the role. I just don't see those scrap heap options as being a playoff rotation piece when Precious or Reed barely are.

Plus the contract Huk got means nothing, it's what they had to sign him just to have him play in SL, it has no bearing going forward on what they 'planned' for him. They drafted him and want him to play in SL, the two way is how they get him on that roster to play. It's not much different than most any of the other second round players on SL rosters around the league, few get guaranteed money. Even if he shows out in SL it's still a risk to rely on him for rotation mins come regular season.

Although, it is crazy to think the FO was 'caught off guard' by the chance of losing iHart, it was literally anything that was talked about him since the season ended. Sure, criticize their approach to possible options to replace him but to suggest they didn't have a clue so were 'caught off' he could leave is actually pretty crazy. We can say they might not have had enough suitable options in the event of it but they weren't caught off guard by it.

They aren't actually 'capped' at the second apron yet, I believe there hasn't been a trigger to bring on the 'hard cap'. They avoided being capped with the Bridges trade to keep themselves open to resigning Precious, keeping the TPMLE, being able to use TPEs and having the room they do to add a center that wouldn't have been there is they didn't do that with the trade structure. They are self capping themselves under the second apron to avoid the harsh penalties.

Umm...ok. whatever you say. Agree to disagree would have saved the wasted time reading all of that gibberish in your posts. If they had a plan to replace him, it was one of the two I mentioned. I just said I was a LITTLE disappointed at how it turned out so far. It's not crazy to suggest maybe they were caught off guard. I never said they were caught off guard. Calm down and save the attitude for someone else. Not sure what your fuggin problem is but, you're being a dick again.

[stuporman]

They couldn't match the offer even if they wanted to. In the meantime the market dried up and they haven't done anything. The plan now seems to be wait and see what they can find on the scrap heap or bring back Precious if they can. They are hard capped at the 2nd apron now so there's really not much else they can do. Hukporti is not the plan. He's on a two way deal now.

Really seems like they didn't have any piece at any price lined up. Which is a little disappointing. It also makes it appear that they weren't expecting to lose him. It's not crazy to think it's a possibility they were caught off guard. They certainly didn't act with any sense of urgency to fill the hole he left. If they were expecting him to leave wouldn't they have something lined up immediately?

All we can do now is wait and see. I find it hard to believe they trust Mitch to stay healthy and Sims to be backup. Makes very little sense.

Yea, I said the cap restraints limited them that's why they couldn't match it, thanks for repeated what I said back to me as if I didn't say it. I appreciate you agreeing with me on that point.

So by 'market dried up' you mean most of the options signed for more money than they could have offered anyway. In my estimation the only real option that would have fit the criteria was Drummond and they would have had to offer the full TPMLE to beat the Sixers offer. Sure, they could have sold him on the idea that he'll get plenty of playing time with a chance to start behind an often injured starter like he is in Philly so that is really the only big miss out player.

Everything else was scrap heap options anyway, along the lines of Bamba, Wiseman and the other reclamation projects. Not sure that securing them on vetmins was going to beef up the rotation more than Precious or Reed will. Although, it may have been a slightly less risky proposition than hoping Sims figures it out or Huk can fill the role. I just don't see those scrap heap options as being a playoff rotation piece when Precious or Reed barely are.

Plus the contract Huk got means nothing, it's what they had to sign him just to have him play in SL, it has no bearing going forward on what they 'planned' for him. They drafted him and want him to play in SL, the two way is how they get him on that roster to play. It's not much different than most any of the other second round players on SL rosters around the league, few get guaranteed money. Even if he shows out in SL it's still a risk to rely on him for rotation mins come regular season.

Although, it is crazy to think the FO was 'caught off guard' by the chance of losing iHart, it was literally anything that was talked about him since the season ended. Sure, criticize their approach to possible options to replace him but to suggest they didn't have a clue so were 'caught off' he could leave is actually pretty crazy. We can say they might not have had enough suitable options in the event of it but they weren't caught off guard by it.

They aren't actually 'capped' at the second apron yet, I believe there hasn't been a trigger to bring on the 'hard cap'. They avoided being capped with the Bridges trade to keep themselves open to resigning Precious, keeping the TPMLE, being able to use TPEs and having the room they do to add a center that wouldn't have been there is they didn't do that with the trade structure. They are self capping themselves under the second apron to avoid the harsh penalties.

Umm...ok. whatever you say. Agree to disagree would have saved the wasted time reading all of that gibberish in your posts. If they had a plan to replace him, it was one of the two I mentioned. I just said I was a LITTLE disappointed at how it turned out so far. It's not crazy to suggest maybe they were caught off guard. I never said they were caught off guard. Calm down and save the attitude for someone else. Not sure what your fuggin problem is but, you're being a dick again.

Wait...what? Dude, you get so butthurt so quick, maybe discussing stuff the internet isn't for you.

[stuporman]

I thought it was widely reported after the Mikal trade that the Knicks were likely out on Ihart? But the Knicks didn’t know? That’s silly

Bridges trade had no effect on what they could give to iHart, they were limited to early bird rights and could only offer him a $72mil/4 years no matter what. OKC just came in and blew that away with an offer of almost twice as much per year, even though it was a shorter contract.

[stuporman]

Seems like they have been caught off guard.

I never said they were caught off guard.

[Kampuchea]

Seems like they have been caught off guard.

I never said they were caught off guard.

[Jalen Bluntson]

Seems like they have been caught off guard.

I never said they were caught off guard.

Seems like. Learn to read. It was a not even the point I was making. Play with each others dildos and try again.

[Fat Kat]

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[Fat Kat]

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[Nazrmohamed]

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Did you actually watch him play? I haven't. What will we get from this kid? I know minutes will be alnost non existent but if we hold onto him can he be a Grimes level prospects for us.

[Jalen Bluntson]

Oops

[WargamesX]

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Did you actually watch him play? I haven't. What will we get from this kid? I know minutes will be alnost non existent but if we hold onto him can he be a Grimes level prospects for us.

If he is healthy he would have likely been an all american, he is a defensive wing, but can shoot a bit and rebounds. He is a Hart type of player, and if you look at Kansas the last few years they keep developing guys who have solid floors and a little bit of upside. I don't think he'll see a minute of NBA games but he is a good candidate for the Mcbride/Sims G-League development plan.

[DaGawd]

Read on Twitter

Did you actually watch him play? I haven't. What will we get from this kid? I know minutes will be alnost non existent but if we hold onto him can he be a Grimes level prospects for us.

If he is healthy he would have likely been an all american, he is a defensive wing, but can shoot a bit and rebounds. He is a Hart type of player, and if you look at Kansas the last few years they keep developing guys who have solid floors and a little bit of upside. I don't think he'll see a minute of NBA games but he is a good candidate for the Mcbride/Sims G-League development plan.

yeah his tape there’s a lot to like.. i don’t want to put unrealistic expectations in him but think his ceiling could even be higher than hart as he’s a bit longer with nice athleticism. looks kind a really nice wing prospect if he can develop a few extra wrinkles to his game

[Luv those Knicks]

The draft is the only real point of criticism with the FO IMO. Looking back they missed out on some useful pieces there....Jalen Williams, Duren etc. ---could have really saved them some assets and what not...but I'm not too upset over it. They took their direction and stuck with it and delivered a great team.

I don't expect much from either---would be a great surprise if any of the two were part of the rotation.

They traded Duren to have enough space to sign Brunson, so I can't fault them for that. Would Brunson have signed anyway if the contract was smaller? Maybe, but I understand why they did that trade.

It also let them do a decreasing deal for Brunson, which also helped this off-season. I understand in hindsight, seeing that Duren is a legit player, but at the time, that trade made sense I think.

[ScienceOfLosing]

The draft is the only real point of criticism with the FO IMO. Looking back they missed out on some useful pieces there....Jalen Williams, Duren etc. ---could have really saved them some assets and what not...but I'm not too upset over it. They took their direction and stuck with it and delivered a great team.

I don't expect much from either---would be a great surprise if any of the two were part of the rotation.

They traded Duren to have enough space to sign Brunson, so I can't fault them for that. Would Brunson have signed anyway if the contract was smaller? Maybe, but I understand why they did that trade.

It also let them do a decreasing deal for Brunson, which also helped this off-season. I understand in hindsight, seeing that Duren is a legit player, but at the time, that trade made sense I think.

I just think with our genius FO of wheeling and dealing, they could have found a way (e.g. other assets, trades, etc.) to keep Duren. I never got it as Mitch has been injury prone and we never had a good backup for him. Duren is damn good and would solve our problems for us, probably starting.

It is what it is and I guess we have to see how things end up this next season. But ouch.

[Luv those Knicks]

They traded Duren to have enough space to sign Brunson, so I can't fault them for that. Would Brunson have signed anyway if the contract was smaller? Maybe, but I understand why they did that trade.

It also let them do a decreasing deal for Brunson, which also helped this off-season. I understand in hindsight, seeing that Duren is a legit player, but at the time, that trade made sense I think.

I just think with our genius FO of wheeling and dealing, they could have found a way (e.g. other assets, trades, etc.) to keep Duren. I never got it as Mitch has been injury prone and we never had a good backup for him. Duren is damn good and would solve our problems for us, probably starting.

It is what it is and I guess we have to see how things end up this next season. But ouch.

You could be right.

The Duren/Salary dump swap did feel like an overpay.

The counter-argument to that is that it takes 2 teams to make a trade and they had a short window between the draft and free agency signing period. The Knicks can wheel and deal, but they have no control over what other teams ask for.

Like the Mikal Bridges trade (or the Donovan Mitchel non trade, or the Melo trade years earlier)- sometimes the only way to get a deal done is to overpay. All the Knicks can do is say yes or no.

[KOA]

What's the latest on Kevin McCullar's injury? Feel's like he isn't being talked about enough because of injury, but he's NBA ready and can make just as much of an impact as Kolek and will likely be needed with injury concerns on the main rotation

[Polk377]

What's the latest on Kevin McCullar's injury? Feel's like he isn't being talked about enough because of injury, but he's NBA ready and can make just as much of an impact as Kolek and will likely be needed with injury concerns on the main rotation

He should be ready to go for training camp. Missing SL was to continue his rehab after surgery as a precaution. I think McCuller will be a real sleeper to earn some minutes on this team. Could be a guy Thibs falls in love with like Grimes and Hart. Extra tough defender and if he proves to even be an average 35% 3 point shooter, he will be a quality backup on the cheap.

[RHODEY]

AND SO MUCH MORE!!!

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[treachery]

AND SO MUCH MORE!!!

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Excited for this guy- really looks like he's going to be a legit rotation player.

Summer league is going to be must-watch with that Kolek/McCullar backcourt.