Knicks have a bunch of options here for their final 2 (or 3) spots with about 3.5M in space until they are hard capped at the second apron (207.8M):
1. They can just sign McCullar and either Diawara/ Nnaji. Easy math. But I think this is unlikely.
2. They can sign Yabusele to about 40K less than the full TMLE and squeeze in a vet minimum guy plus Diawara/ Nnaji
3. They can sign a vet minimum guy and wait until after the season starts to covert Diawara or Nnaji from a 2-way to a standard contract to make it work. If they wait long enough, they can maybe squeeze some extra space to sign a PJ Tucker type late in the year as 15th man. This falls in line with what they did last year to make the money work after the Towns trade.
4. They can get super creative and go out shopping via trade for another team’s draft rights guy that they really like. Trade for that player and bring him over in combination with one of these other options. Or although unlikely, bring in jokubaitis or that other guy they got draft rights to in the Sims/ Wright trade. Brock loves his draft rights guys so here’s where they come in handy. Second round exception (1.2M) is a great thing
Ultimately we won’t get full clarity on this until after summer league at the very least. We can narrow down options a bit based on if they sign 1 more vet or not. I assume they still have some interest in bringing back Shamet or Wright and would make the money work. Nothing needs to be done for a bit since the Yabusele/ Clarkson deals aren’t official for a while. I bet they sign another vet and let Nnaji and Diawara duke it out for the 14th spot in SL. The guy who misses out gets a 2-way deal along with McCullar and Watson. Just a guess. But these are the options regardless.
We have a qualifying offer out to McCullar. How long does he have to accept that? At this point should we assume he has a hold on a spot?
Also is he theoretically a restricted FA - meaning there's a (very small) chance someone else gives him an offer sheet we can't match b/c we're hard capped?
VDesai wrote:We have a qualifying offer out to McCullar. How long does he have to accept that? At this point should we assume he has a hold on a spot?Also is he theoretically a restricted FA - meaning there's a (very small) chance someone else gives him an offer sheet we can't match b/c we're hard capped?
What’s his demand though really ? Also he isn’t eligible for the 2nd round exception, so his minimum is about 2M, which is close to the vet minimum as far as payroll purposes (vet min is 2.3M). So I am guessing the Knicks either bring him back on a 2-way deal or lose him, given how close they are to the second apron and how they are going to squeeze out every dollar of value. Just a guess. Maybe he kills it in summer league and makes it easy on them to sign to a standard contract. But you’re essentially choosing between him or another veteran like Shamet or Wright. Can’t have both. We will see what they value most.
Knixkik wrote:VDesai wrote:We have a qualifying offer out to McCullar. How long does he have to accept that? At this point should we assume he has a hold on a spot?Also is he theoretically a restricted FA - meaning there's a (very small) chance someone else gives him an offer sheet we can't match b/c we're hard capped?
What’s his demand though really ? Also he isn’t eligible for the 2nd round exception, so his minimum is about 2M, which is close to the vet minimum as far as payroll purposes (vet min is 2.3M). So I am guessing the Knicks either bring him back on a 2-way deal or lose him, given how close they are to the second apron and how they are going to squeeze out every dollar of value. Just a guess. Maybe he kills it in summer league and makes it easy on them to sign to a standard contract. But you’re essentially choosing between him or another veteran like Shamet or Wright. Can’t have both. We will see what they value most.
Man, what are the qualifications for this outside of being drafted in second round? I wasn't aware
Knixkik wrote:VDesai wrote:We have a qualifying offer out to McCullar. How long does he have to accept that? At this point should we assume he has a hold on a spot?Also is he theoretically a restricted FA - meaning there's a (very small) chance someone else gives him an offer sheet we can't match b/c we're hard capped?
What’s his demand though really ? Also he isn’t eligible for the 2nd round exception, so his minimum is about 2M, which is close to the vet minimum as far as payroll purposes (vet min is 2.3M). So I am guessing the Knicks either bring him back on a 2-way deal or lose him, given how close they are to the second apron and how they are going to squeeze out every dollar of value. Just a guess. Maybe he kills it in summer league and makes it easy on them to sign to a standard contract. But you’re essentially choosing between him or another veteran like Shamet or Wright. Can’t have both. We will see what they value most.
It really depends. He was a probable first rounder who slipped to round 2 on health concerns. Now he is healthy. There may be teams that rated him as a first rounder. They all know the Knicks are hard capped to the 2nd apron so have a limited dollar amount to offer. To the extent they are willing to pay up a bit more they know the Knicks can't match. Its more than he's worth, but if you had the money you could steal a first round talent. Would Brooklyn like to stick it to us?
martin wrote:Knixkik wrote:VDesai wrote:We have a qualifying offer out to McCullar. How long does he have to accept that? At this point should we assume he has a hold on a spot?Also is he theoretically a restricted FA - meaning there's a (very small) chance someone else gives him an offer sheet we can't match b/c we're hard capped?
What’s his demand though really ? Also he isn’t eligible for the 2nd round exception, so his minimum is about 2M, which is close to the vet minimum as far as payroll purposes (vet min is 2.3M). So I am guessing the Knicks either bring him back on a 2-way deal or lose him, given how close they are to the second apron and how they are going to squeeze out every dollar of value. Just a guess. Maybe he kills it in summer league and makes it easy on them to sign to a standard contract. But you’re essentially choosing between him or another veteran like Shamet or Wright. Can’t have both. We will see what they value most.
Man, what are the qualifications for this outside of being drafted in second round? I wasn't aware
McCullar saw playing time last year, so that bumps him into a different category since he’s technically a vet. Second round exception must be a rookie/ never played an nba game.
To add to this, I’m a fan of McCullar and think he can develop into a legit player. He was a steal last year at the end of the second round. But if the Knicks are so tight against the second apron, and his cap hit is going to be almost the same as a vet minimum, then I don’t see the advantage to signing him to a standard contract. It’s unfortunate for him but he’s sort of stuck in a situation out of a salary cap loophole. Vets making 3.6M like Clarkson still only cost 2.3M agains the cap. Second round exception guys cost only 1.3M. But second year guys have a cap hit of their actual salary, which is in the 2M range. That’s McCullar.
Knixkik wrote:To add to this, I’m a fan of McCullar and think he can develop into a legit player. He was a steal last year at the end of the second round. But if the Knicks are so tight against the second apron, and his cap hit is going to be almost the same as a vet minimum, then I don’t see the advantage to signing him to a standard contract. It’s unfortunate for him but he’s sort of stuck in a situation out of a salary cap loophole. Vets making 3.6M like Clarkson still only cost 2.3M agains the cap. Second round exception guys cost only 1.3M. But second year guys have a cap hit of their actual salary, which is in the 2M range. That’s McCullar.
It all depends. Who else is out there willing to play spot minutes at the veteran's minimum? If McCullar turns out to be a disaster, then just waive him. You need young legs and if McCullar turns out to be playable, I say keep him.
BigDaddyG wrote:Knixkik wrote:To add to this, I’m a fan of McCullar and think he can develop into a legit player. He was a steal last year at the end of the second round. But if the Knicks are so tight against the second apron, and his cap hit is going to be almost the same as a vet minimum, then I don’t see the advantage to signing him to a standard contract. It’s unfortunate for him but he’s sort of stuck in a situation out of a salary cap loophole. Vets making 3.6M like Clarkson still only cost 2.3M agains the cap. Second round exception guys cost only 1.3M. But second year guys have a cap hit of their actual salary, which is in the 2M range. That’s McCullar.
It all depends. Who else is out there willing to play spot minutes at the veteran's minimum? If McCullar turns out to be a disaster, then just waive him. You need young legs and if McCullar turns out to be playable, I say keep him.
I’m not opposed to it, but there will be plenty of vets willing to come fill out the roster with no expectation to play regular minutes once the free agent dust settles. So it’s essentially a Delon Wright level vet vs McCullar. The one thing McCullar in his favor is he’s a true wing, which we can use.
Wonder if we could swing a small deal with one of the youths and maybe sign a vet wing like Caleb Martin
Maybe it's not a Martin but would prefer say a 6'7" legit SG/SF wing vs say a smaller guy like Shamet.
Shamet would be a good consolation prize I guess but have to hope someone with more talent/upside pops free or can be traded for.
LivingLegend wrote:Wonder if we could swing a small deal with one of the youths and maybe sign a vet wing like Caleb Martin
If they are trading Kolek or Hukporti they aren’t really opening up any space. They would still have to fill that spot. So the only real option would be Dadiet, who is on the books for 2.8M, which is about 500k above the vet minimum. So if they moved him it would definitely help but not sure they would.
I do wonder if we are all maybe over rating McCullar given he was a 5th year senior coming out and has avg. athleticism with knee injury history and mediocre shooter.
Hoping for him to flourish but I have my doubts he's just another AAA player.
I'd prefer Shamet for continuity and professionalism...and he played well despite limited playoff minutes.
I’m sure there’s deals out there, but what deal outside of a major Giannis deal is out there to really upgrade the talent and create more cap space? The Knicks Film School guys speculated something could be in the works. It’s just a guess though based on the financials and current rotation.
Not saying I would do this necessarily, but the one I keep coming back to is Utah with Walker Kessler. If the Knicks sent Mitch and Dadiet for Kessler and KJ Martin, it’s a 2 for 2 swap that also opens about 3M extra in space. That brings the total to about 6.5M. Enough for 2 more vets and Nnaji/ Diawara for the second round exception as a 15th man. But then what is the draft comp we pay Utah? I imagine they would want the Washington pick and our 2032 swap at a minimum. And then what else is there ? Next summer we can open up the 2026 pick and the 2033 pick, plus 2032 swap, so more to work with for a big trade. But I’m not even sure if this makes sense for the Knicks. Might as well just stick with it and figure out the finances another way.
LivingLegend wrote:I do wonder if we are all maybe over rating McCullar given he was a 5th year senior coming out and has avg. athleticism with knee injury history and mediocre shooter.Hoping for him to flourish but I have my doubts he's just another AAA player.
I'd say slightly above average athlete. Not really a skywalker, but he flew with the ball in his hands and had quick first step from what I saw of him in G-League. Also his defense didn't seem to fall of when he returned. I think he can be a solid role player but he will have to be decent from three. He'll have to prove it of course,
LivingLegend wrote:I do wonder if we are all maybe over rating McCullar given he was a 5th year senior coming out and has avg. athleticism with knee injury history and mediocre shooter.Hoping for him to flourish but I have my doubts he's just another AAA player.
He reminds me of the Martin twins. Does nothing great but everything good enough. He was projected as a first round pick until the injury. So there’s really some intrigue there. But we also aren’t in a rush with him and can continue to develop him as a 2-way guy. I don’t think anyone is trying to poach him.
jskinny35 wrote:I'd prefer Shamet for continuity and professionalism...and he played well despite limited playoff minutes.
I agree. Right now with this rotation, it makes sense to bring shamet back as a shooter who is probably 10th or 11th man, and then sign Nnaji or Diawara as the 14th player. We just need to figure out how to clear a small amount of money. It should just be as simple as cutting it from Yabusele’s TMLE. I wonder if that’s the plan since the Knicks would have known how the numbers break down going in. To the general public is the full TPMLE. But in reality it might be about 40k shy to make the math work.
Knixkik wrote:LivingLegend wrote:I do wonder if we are all maybe over rating McCullar given he was a 5th year senior coming out and has avg. athleticism with knee injury history and mediocre shooter.Hoping for him to flourish but I have my doubts he's just another AAA player.
He reminds me of the Martin twins. Does nothing great but everything good enough. He was projected as a first round pick until the injury. So there’s really some intrigue there. But we also aren’t in a rush with him and can continue to develop him as a 2-way guy. I don’t think anyone is trying to poach him.
Good comp on Martin twins - agree.
I was eyeing McCullar for our first rounder all year. The injury pushed him back. I like him better than Dadiet personally. Would hate to give him up - we didnt really need to play him in NBA games last year
I'n surprised that Chris Paul hasnt been on the FO's radar as far as we know. As much as Id like to see Kolek settle into the backup PG position, Paul would give us a HOF backup PG.
Paul played all 82 games last season, and we could offer the MLE. Would be a good mentor for Brunson as well.
VDesai wrote:I was eyeing McCullar for our first rounder all year. The injury pushed him back. I like him better than Dadiet personally. Would hate to give him up - we didnt really need to play him in NBA games last year
Yeah I guess the 4 games really hurts him here.
