{"id":860993,"date":"2026-09-26T05:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T05:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/860993\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T05:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T05:08:15","slug":"knicks-should-keep-developing-kevin-mccullar-jr-despite-quiet-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/860993\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks should keep developing Kevin McCullar Jr. despite quiet summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

This offseason, the New York Knicks have seen several members of their 2026 NBA Championship-winning roster leave to pursue new, and potentially better, opportunities. Mitchell Robinson got a three-year pay day from the Boston Celtics,<\/a> an offer he couldn’t refuse given the Knicks’ organizational refusal to surpass the salary cap’s second apron. <\/p>\n

The Philadelphia 76ers offered Ariel Hukporti a full $1 million more than a minimum contract to secure his services, scaring New York’s front office off from trying to outbid them, and added Dillon Jones on the same kind of two-way deal he had as a Knick<\/a>. And the Toronto Raptors became the third in-division rival to sign one of Leon Rose’s former centers this offseason when they added Trey Jemison III to a two-way contract of his own.<\/p>\n

But the next step of one member of that title-winning roster \u2014 on the court<\/a>, that is \u2014 has remained a complete mystery. 25-year-old wing Kevin McCullar Jr. didn’t play for the Knicks, or any other team, at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. And he hasn’t signed a contract with any team, yet. A recent update from SNY’s Ian Begley, <\/a>though, gives fans hope that the 6-foot-6 wing has been in Rose’s plans all along. And the Knicks might just have a two-way spot with his name on it for the 2026-27 regular season.<\/p>\n

Knicks still have “league-leading” flexibility with two-way spots<\/p>\n

The Knicks went into the 2025-26 regular season with three two-way players on their roster, the maximum allowed, in Tosan Evbuomwan, Trey Jemison III, and McCullar Jr. When the Oklahoma City Thunder waived former first-round pick Dillon Jones, New York moved on from Evbuomwan to add the swingman that wound up proving crucial<\/a> to the team’s deep playoff run.<\/p>\n

This offseason, both Jemison III and Jones agreed to two-way contracts with other teams in the Atlantic Division \u2014 joining the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers, respectively, for next season. McCullar Jr. has had an incredibly quiet offseason, including a nonexistent Summer League, but the wing has flashed an impressive motor and potentially impactful set of skills in his limited playing time with the team.<\/p>\n

It’s good news that he remains on the Knicks’ radar at this point in the offseason, according to Begley, especially given the depth they’ve already amassed at the guard positions. McCullar Jr. can’t play center, but the 25-year-old has a 6-foot-9 wingspan and the overall tools when healthy to defend bigger wings.<\/a><\/p>\n

After playing in just four games in his rookie season, the wing averaged 7.4 minutes per game in 21 appearances under MIke Brown. That included his season-closing performance against the Charlotte Hornets, when he logged 14 points and two steals in 25 minutes of action. <\/p>\n

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