The New York Knicks have built one of the most talented rosters in the NBA. Offseason additions Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele will join a group that won 51 games and reached the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals despite enduring long-term injury absences and the pitfalls of drastic changes.
If there's one area in which the Knicks still project to struggle, however, it's creating a rotation that provides the necessary level of depth along the wings.
Clarkson should pair with Miles McBride to offer the Knicks a compelling scoring duo off the bench. Yabusele, meanwhile, is a modern 4 with the ability to score at multiple levels, crash the boards, and even create for his teammates.
The void that New York continues to struggle to fill, however, is the need for size at the 2 and 3 spots beyond OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart—a trio that often shares the court.
Perhaps Mike Brown will stagger their minutes in a way that Tom Thibodeau proved reluctant to. That could be the answer to creating a rotation that's more balanced than what was produced by Leon Rose and Thibodeau in 2024-25.
Regardless of what Brown does, the search for depth must continue—and Summer League standout Kevin McCullar Jr. is providing an unexpected reason for optimism.
Kevin McCullar Jr. is showing out at Summer League
McCullar began his Las Vegas Summer League showing with 13 points, six rebounds, three assists, and a steal. It certainly wasn't his best shooting performance, but it was a welcome display of confidence from a player whose minutes were scarce in 2024-25.
Those efforts paid off the next time out, as McCullar erupted to the tune of 30 points, four rebounds, one assist, and two steals against the Boston Celtics.
McCullar shot 10-of-15 from the field in a brilliant display of the well-rounded scoring ability that he possesses. He punished overzealous closeouts with drives to the basket and tough finishes in traffic, was constantly moving without the ball, and won his battles with effort and intensity above all else.
It was a captivating showcase of McCullar's uncanny ability to play angles, find space when working without the ball, and toughness when fighting through contact.
His jump shot admittedly continued to falter, but in many respects, his performance was reminiscent of what the Knicks have so often seen from Josh Hart. It wasn't about physically overwhelming opponents or shooting the lights out, but simply being in the right place to make the smart play—and refusing to be moved off their spot.
If those attributes can translate to the NBA, then patience will be easy to justify with McCullar's jump shot—and minutes could thus come his way.
It would obviously be ideal for McCullar to emerge as a true 3-and-D wing, but the early return remains noteworthy. It's also worth mentioning that he improved his three-point shooting by 3.7 percent and his free-throw efficiency by 4.4 percent between 2022-23 and 2023-24 with the Kansas Jayhawks.
If that trend can continue in 2025-26, when McCullar will play his second season with the Knicks, a larger role and a needed supply of size along the wings could be the result.