McCullar has seemed like a potential, near term rotation piece since being drafted as an older, bigger wing who can defend, rebound and pass. Injuries stole his first season but he rebounded nicely last year in Westchester. He had the chance to play Point forward and averaged 7 assists and even shot 38% from 3 on catch and shoot attempts. 3 point shooting was his major weakness so that was big for him
Dillon Jones was a FRP from the same draft (I think) as McCullar. Interesting prospect given his massive 7’ wingspan and massive body (6’5” 235). He’s fast for his size, is a really good rebounder and facilitator. Seems like he has always played point forward. His weakness seems to be his lack of vertical. But he had a very solid season at Westchester and also hit 38% from 3
Jones is on our summer team but McCullar isn’t. That could be a bad sign for McCullar
The Knicks may simply resign Clarkson and a vet min center and be done with our roster. That would leave Jones and McCullar as 2 way candidates. Or it’s possible the Knicks do some more roster tweaking. Deuce is a FA after next year and we may not be able to afford him. Dadiet’s salary goes over $5M next year and we may not want him at that number. Moving one or both could open up 1-3 roster spots given that Deuce and Dadiet make more than the vet min. So there could soon be a spot for one of them or maybe both?
Thoughts?
I leaned towards Kolek and McCullar not being on SL roster being a very good thing: both dominated their GLeague minutes this past year, not much more to prove and they know what they got. McCullar was doing point forward with 5+ rebounds, nearly 6.7 assists on 16.8ppg in 31 minutes; Kev was clear dominant in those minutes but not sure of the competition. His 3point shooting has a long way to go to prove out at the NBA level.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/gle...
Hopefully they back
McCullar is also a UFA. He plays summer league and balls out. Could sign with another team. After Knicks letting Huk go though. Have no idea how they really view these guys
Knicks also most likely want to heavily feature Dadiet & Mo. May want to avoid McCullar eating those touches?
martin wrote:I leaned towards Kolek and McCullar not being on SL roster being a very good thing: both dominated their GLeague minutes this past year, not much more to prove and they know what they got. McCullar was doing point forward with 5+ rebounds, nearly 6.7 assists on 16.8ppg in 31 minutes; Kev was clear dominant in those minutes but not sure of the competition. His 3point shooting has a long way to go to prove out at the NBA level.https://www.basketball-reference.com/gle...
Hopefully they back
Not playing in SL is a sign they still have interest in him either because (a) they know what he can do and (b) they don't want anyone else to go after him.
While I have no way of knowing for sure, my assumption is he is the last upside player from last year's roster still not signed and they are holding a spot for him.
IOW, they'd have had to tell his agent that after the dust settles from the 2nd apron gyrations they'd know how much they had left under the cap to give Kev.
I do not have a good read on the potential of Dillon Jones, but I don't think he did anything special in Westchester. At the same size, McCullar looks like a more finished product ready for NBA duty. Dillon's shooting % look pretty ghastly TBH. I think he is still under a two-way deal so they should be able to start the season with him in Westchester.
It comes down to who could step in and contribute meaningful rotation minutes and I think the answer is probably Mccullar. He fills a BIG HOLE in the roster for a big, elite defensive guard who can handle the rock and also score. Outside of Hart, our guards are midgets and we desperately need some competent size at the position which is why I'm still optimistic Kev can return and play for us.
P.S. I liked the little I saw of Trey Jemison, but maybe he was too much of an edge case player to stick. Just mentioning him in case he comes back to Westchester. Any remaining two-way deals may be signed as Westchester stash and monitor players who could be called up mid-season if they fill a need. Thus, I would not be surprised if any new 2-way deals are for bigs or centers they can keep on standby.
I expect both to be on 2-way deals, as long as our 2 second round picks have their situations sorted out first. But they aren’t making the main roster at this point.
I don't think we should have retired Jones' #33 already, but I guess I'm just not as high on him as you guys.
