How the emergence of the Knicks’ younger players bodes well for this season and the team’s future
Depth hasn’t been the Knicks’ calling card in recent years. But in the last month it has become more common to expect the coach Mike Brown to go to a 10-man rotation. In New York’s last two games against the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans, 11 Knicks have played close games.
Not much was expected of any of the Knicks’ first- or second-year players coming into this new season. Over the past two weeks, many of New York’s young players have stepped up and contributed to victories. In the process, the group changed the cap on this list for both this year and going forward.
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Tyler Kolek he pioneered the New York youth movement. The 24-year-old point guard has taken a spot in New York’s rotation in recent games and has also seen crucial minutes in significant moments like New York’s NBA Cup win over the Spurs. Over the past two weeks, Kolek had 16 points, nine assists on Christmas Day and 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists while starting against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Second year player Kevin McCullar Jr. had 13 points, eight rebounds and two steals in New York’s win Saturday night over the Atlanta Hawks. In Monday night’s win over the Pelicans, rookie second-round pick Mohamed Diawara emerged, making four 3-pointers and scoring 18 points in 16 minutes.
As young players, they won’t always have great games. But it doesn’t seem like the Knicks will have to rely heavily on any of the youngsters to consistently produce. In Wednesday night’s loss to the Spurs, Kolek scored three points in 15 minutes, while McCullar and Diawara played less than 10 minutes.
The presence of the three players mentioned above adds depth to a Knicks bench that seemed thin at times. Landry Shamet AND Miles McBride both have missed time with injuries and are reserve forwards Guerschón Yabusele it was ineffective. The performances of Kolek, McCullar and Diawara came at just the right time.
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Another added benefit is the size of both Diawara and McCullar on the wing. Diawara is listed as 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan. McCullar is 6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan. One concern has been New York’s lack of size on the perimeter outside the trio OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, AND Josh Hart. New York’s bench has trended small with McBride, Shamet and Jordan Clarkson seeing significant time during the early stages of the season.
Future game
The growth of players like Kolek, Diawara and McCullar will also be important for New York’s future. The club has the second-highest payroll in the NBA for the 2025-26 season behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to Spotrac, the Knicks currently sit just $148,358 below second place.
After the most recent collective bargaining agreement, teams that make it past the second square face the most severe penalties, such as not being able to use the taxpayer’s mid-level exception to sign free agents or aggregating multiple salaries into one trade.
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One way to combat rising paychecks is to draft well and sign incoming picks with modest salaries at a fixed cost. Kolek and Diawara make just under $3.5 million this year. McCullar is on a two-way deal.
The Knicks have five players making $19 million a year or more. With Mitchel Robinson set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season and McBride potentially headed for free agency in the summer of 2027, the Knicks need to develop players to be part of the rotation going forward.
This puts a spotlight on player development, a weakness of the Knicks for much of this century. Developing young, homegrown talent will be a critical factor in New York building around its core and fielding a championship contender this year and beyond.