Somewhere, some way, somehow, the Leon Rose-led Knicks front office is still trading draft picks.
For the Knicks, Day 2 of the NBA Draft mirrored Day 1: plenty of wheeling and dealing, this time with more selections made.
And after taking French forward Pacome Dadiet with pick No. 25 on Wednesday, the Knicks secured backcourt help taking Marquette guard Tyler Kolek at pick No. 34 on Thursday before landing a steal in Kansas’ Kevin McCullar Jr. at pick No. 56 and German center Ariel Hukporti at No. 58.
How they got to Nos. 34, 56 and 58 — and how they offloaded every other pick acquired in this year’s draft — was one of the more complicated, head-scratching draft-day processes in franchise history.
To recap, the Knicks:
- entered the 2024 NBA Draft holding picks Nos. 24, 25 and 38
- traded No. 24 to the Washington Wizards for picks 26 and 51
- selected Dadiet at pick No. 25
- traded pick No. 26 to the Oklahoma City Thunder for five future second-round picks
- traded three future second-round picks to the Portland Trail Blazers to select Kolek at pick No. 34
- traded pick No. 38 to the Thunder for pick No. 40 and cash considerations
- traded pick No. 40 to the Phoenix Suns for pick No. 56
- traded pick No. 51 to the Dallas Mavericks for an unknown package
- selected McCullar at No. 56, one slot after the Los Angeles Lakers selected Bronny James at No. 55
- then finally chose Hukporti with the final pick of the draft.
Hukporti may very well be a draft and stash, and he ruptured his left Achilles tendon in 2022, but the 22-year-old 6-11 big man is known to have a strong motor.
The Kolek selection was a steal.
Drawing comparisons to Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell, the 23-year-old, 6-1 Kolek is listed at the ninth-best guard on The Ringer’s NBA Draft big board.
In fact, he was projected to go to the Knicks at pick No. 24 before they moved on from the selection.
Kolek averaged 15.3 points and 7.7 assists as a 39% three-point shooter in his senior year. He is a good spot-up shooter and a crafty finisher at the rim who can run an offense and has come up big in clutch moments during his college career.
And he addresses the need for depth at the point guard spot, slotting in behind Jalen Brunson and Miles McBride. His size will render him a target on defense, but he is no slouch on that end of the floor.
As for the elephant in the room, Marquette’s senior compliance officer publicly refuted reports suggesting Kolek cannot read.
“I can tell you this is unequivocally not true,” Danielle Josetti tweeted on Feb. 28. “This is neither funny, nor appropriate. Kick rocks.”
Kolek even addressed the rumors with his own post showing a heavy six-course load with a 3.984 grade point average after the fall semester in 2023.
“I just learned how to read,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter, with a smiling, crying emoji.
McCullar is a 6-5 energy player known best for his hustle and defensive instincts. He averaged 18.3 points, six rebounds and four assists per game with the Jayhawks last season and is a high-level cutter who finished well around the rim. The Ringer listed McCullar 36th on its big board, meaning the Knicks found good value 20 picks later.
The incessant wheeling and dealing was a must for a Knicks team with a payroll far exceeding the $141 million salary cap. After signing OG Anunoby to a five-year, $212.5 million contract marking the richest deal in franchise history, the Knicks entered the draft with $170 million in payroll.
Second-round picks can sign for as much as $1.2 million, cap space the Knicks don’t have to spend on players who don’t project to crack the rotation.
Dadiet, who went 25th, said he expects to play in the NBA next season and does not anticipate spending additional years overseas refining his game as a draft and stash. Whether or not his plan is on par with that of the franchise remains to be seen.
Dadiet also said he modeled his game after former Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant.
The Knicks now have three new players at the end of their roster, and if there’s anything head coach Tom Thibodeau will do, it’s have the 13th, 14th and 15th guys on the team ready to play in case their number is called in an emergency.
