What Do Kevin McCullar Jr. And Ariel Hukporti Bring To The New York Knicks? W/ Chucking Darts

What Do Kevin McCullar Jr. And Ariel Hukporti Bring To The New York Knicks? W/ Chucking Darts

welcome into a bonus edition of the lockon Nicks podcast I’m once again joined by Chuck of the chucking darts draft podcast today we talk the Knick’s last two picks Kevin mcculler Jr could he be the rare player drafted in the 50s to actually make a dent in the NBA you are locked on Nicks your daily New York Nicks podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hey what’s up guys you are locked on Nick I want to thank you for making locked on Nick your first listen today and every day we are now available on all platforms so be sure you hit that subscription button on YouTube and the notification Bell to ensure you never miss one over there and the Auto download function on your favorite podcast platform of choice so you always have us with you on the go especially in a week like this we’ve done 10 episodes and especially on a day like today where maybe you didn’t make lockon Nicks your first listen at least this episode of Locked on Nick because we had an earlier one with Chuck uh breaking down the games of bakoma while he might be the steal of 2024 NBA draft all Tyler kak might not be quite ready to be the Knick’s backup point guard um we got into all that in episode one in this one we break down the last two picks Nicks Kevin mcculler Jr Ariel Huck py why why he could steal Tom Fido’s heart we get into all of it now on locked on Knicks what what do you think about uh the next guy the Knicks got Kevin mcculler Jr who I know we were talking about on this podcast as someone they could even take at at 24 or 25 he he took probably due to injury in some part pretty precipitous Tumbl down 18 points six rebounds four assists per game this past year 57% true shooting um I know his improvement from three was was a pretty big deal 33% from three 65 69 wingspan somewhat of a long history with the Knicks kind of eyeing him he worked out for them two years ago I I think when he was still at Texas Tech if I’m remembering correctly um how much do you buy the shot at this point because everything I’ve I’ve gotten is that that is sort of the Swing skill for him at the end of the day and if he’s just sort of like a fine shooter like low3s on decent volume is that an NBA rotation guy or is that someone who’s who’s either out of the league or just kind of scrapping to stay in the league uh good question I think that it’s a swing skill I don’t think he’ll ever be a good NBA shooter I mean that’s just the the bar just keeps Rising so radically as to what that is but the shot to me he understood that he needed to get them up and the first couple months of the year you know he was a first team All-American and he was not shy about shooting his threes he has his weird you know lower body kind of scissor kick when he shoots sometime maybe scissor Kick’s not the right word Dorothy tap about wanting to go you know wizard of O’s reference I’m really swimming here but it it looks strange but he shot it very confidently and he was shooting it very well and even if you wanted to do small sample siiz theater on it he also I like was really hitting his free throws through the first several months of the year I think I measured it because I was talking with pre on Twitter about this at some point and he was like 41 for his last 44 free throws or something I again this was at some point to me the injury concerns are clearly the reason he slipped and much more the concern like because that obvious like and I don’t want to dedicate too much time on a podcast to it because I’m not a doctor and it’s like well if he’s hurt then obviously that’s not going to work but in terms of if the Knicks can get him healthy he rebounds very well he’s a very good passer he positions himself on defense very well he’s strong not a crazy athlete but more in the um he’s not quite McBride level but he’s more in the like very tough power based Defender where I’m like I’m not going to give ground want me I mean but Josh is special too I but like yeah kind of Josh is more of like the blue chip version of that again just as a note on I’ll give you one more Nick’s name Reggie Reggie Bullock that category maybe yeah maybe maybe Reggie I think that Kevin probably more gifted of an all-around player when he came into the league than Reggie was but like Josh Josh never shoots threes anymore or shoots them very rarely in his last year at V Nova before he went to the league he made 73s and now we’re wondering like can Kevin shoot in the league and he made like I don’t know 50 so I think when he’s on the floor and he bore a huge burden for Kansas as their best offensive player best defensive player clearly so if you shrink his role but he retains the willingness to get his shots up then yes like I think for a pick in the 50s very good like there is a world where he is a multiple contract NBA player for sure the the health is going to matter a whole lot but someone that will play as hard as tibs wants like that’ll all fit defense first that’ll all fit good at drawing fouls like comfortable creating contact on drives uh like he can keep stuff moving and he can be a rotation like an seventh eighth man that you’re happy about it’s just more uh more about the injury stuff and whether or not he can hold up gotcha I mean that that’s exciting because we again it was was maybe an all-time bad scenario but we saw how important it is to have 11 through 15 because we one Alec Burks turned ankle from all right dayquon Jeff your starting buddy out there game seven of the Eastern Conference semi-finals all right uh last guy the Nicks took um and the guy I I admittedly know almost nothing about um Ariel py hopefully not butchering his name too bad Five Points six boards one block a game playing in Australia this past year 611 72 and a half wingspan um I’ve heard he is a monster offensive rebounder which I’m sure had had Tom thibo drooling a little bit and and maybe just like shoving through a long line of Nick’s Executives to get to Leon Rose and grab him by a shirt and say you’re taking Ariel with his last pick um what what what are your thoughts on on on his game and is there I I know he’s someone who was also set back by injury tearing his Achilles two years ago because I vaguely remember hearing about him a few drafts back but is he someone with any chance of one day like sticking in the NBA or or or was this just sort of like the draft um let me I’ll stay on Queue here D Chuck by the Knicks all right guys we are going to be back in just a sec finishing this one up talking about uh Ariel horty and what he brings to the table that next on lockdown Knicks passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors is everything you need to maintain your vehicle and leveled up to Peak Performance superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you’re into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number 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entirely inline design to be convenient flexible and suited to your schedule just F A Brief questionnaire to get match with a licensed therapist and switch therapist anytime for no additional charge so stop comparing and start focusing with betterhelp visit betterhelp.com locked on NBA today to get 10% off your first month that’s betterhelp hp.com locked on NBA hey thanks I think yeah I think any chance yes he has he has a chance I forgot that he was in this draft because I haven’t watched him in detail since pre ailles te I did follow him a little bit in the 2021 cycle and my who’s uh editor-in Chief at switch Theory uh Matt poers draft pal he came on my show like way back in the Dark Ages and was talking about uh you know IBU baji and Huck py and all these other different bigs uh he is very like he is 611 72 is not crazy Dimensions but he plays very very strong like very physical very good motor and the offensive rebound is like clearly there he also back in his earlier days but I think before he was in the NBL I think he was in some European League was a bit more uh precocious like shooting threes and doing like that’s I think why we talked about him is because you’re like what this guy’s really trying some wild stuff in this league you know is this anything sort of a deal I don’t think any of that’s going to follow him to the NBA but I think he has always stuck out as someone who’s going to like play in drop and just play very very very hard in drop like a Dem Bona goes uh 40th whenever you know he went Pack 12 defensive player of the year to uh Philadelphia and bone is good and he’s he’ll switch more than someone like you know hpy can switch but when you are uh when you’re a defensive big basically I think it is more important to do one thing really really well than to like maybe project to do a couple other things I just think you’re not going to get that many minutes anyway so you might as well be very very good at something a team can count on and I uh you know I think bone is a fine Prospect but like hpor is just bigger than him and is probably a better rebounder than him and so you can again imagine as a third big or something like that again some sort of minutes e in the regular season where he might like survive out there I wouldn’t wouldn’t count much on it but he’ll he’ll have his moments and you know just like mcculler and KCK and daddy a like Nicks fans will love him for his motor how hard he plays all right the Jericho Sims Norville pel Memorial breaking case of emergency giant for Tom Fido I like the pitch uh Chuck I’ve Loved all your insights thank you so so much for coming on um before I let you go would you mind just tell anyone one more time um what you have coming down the docket I assume some final thoughts on 2024 maybe maybe some early previews 2025 and and where they can find all that yeah I’ll have my uh we’re recording this on Friday the 28th I’ll have my um draft review and sort of my bigboard review because I released it on draft day I’ll have all that stuff uh probably on Saturday the 29th my uh handles at chucking darts you know my podcast is the same wherever you get your podcast so I’ll have that episode my write up is pinned to my uh profile I don’t know the next I I’m going to summer league maybe I’ll do something about that but this time of year I usually kick up my 20 my draft cycle stuff around the beginning of the college season so in between now and then I’ll do some more NBA writing I imagine about I focus on players who are year three and younger so that would now be I guess the guys from the 2022 class Chad Jabari Paulo Jaylen Williams you know that whole class wy’s class and then this incoming class so I’ll probably do some writing about them and projecting them out between now and then but yeah substacks linked chucking darts. substack outcom uh but thank you very much uh Gavin this is great A lot of fun yeah had had a blast um enjoy summer league and uh for everyone tuning in we will have plenty of coverage coming forward of free agency and uh whatever else comes down the dock it does doesn’t seem like things are getting quiet anytime soon so follow along at lockdown ni [Music] [Music]

Gavin Schall is joined by Chuck of the Chucking Darts podcast to discuss why Kevin McCullar Jr. fell in the NBA Draft and if he and Ariel Hukporti could one day contribute to the Knicks.

Check out Chuck’s podcast Chucking Darts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast…

And his writing on his Substack here: https://substack.com/@chuckingdarts

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