This offseason, the New York Knicks were in a roster crunch. Tyler Kolek and Pacome Dadiet were both on the trade block as the team wanted to clear space to sign Malcolm Brogdon and Landry Shamet to fully guaranteed contracts. It didn't seem like the team was itching to part with Dadiet, who was a first-round pick just a year ago. Thus, Kolek was a clear candidate to be dealt.
Of course, both Dadiet and Kolek remained Knicks thanks to Brogdon's surprise retirement. Still, it would have been so, so easy for [any team to acquire Tyler Kolek](https://dailyknicks.com/knicks-vindicated-tyler-kolek-decision-after-championship-performance) this summer. I bet two second-round picks would have done the job! But the phone never rang, and after Kolek's heroic performance in the NBA Cup final, the Knicks won't even bother to pick up the phone if a team calls about him now.
They can't have him! He doesn't ever need to score another point in a Knicks jersey, and his number should still be retired. I'm sure teams will check in on him at the deadline, and they should be politely rebuffed. They had their chance and sat idly by instead.
Tyler Kolek was available and no NBA team wanted him
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Granted, Tyler Kolek was mostly a non-factor last season, and even after his magical Cup performance, he's still averaging 3.6 points on the season. So it might be early to say that teams missed out on a diamond in the rough.
But [Kolek has proved, at least](https://dailyknicks.com/mike-browns-admission-reveals-knicks-plans-tyler-kolek), that he deserves a shot at regular minutes. That already would have been worth the price an opposing team would have paid to acquire Kolek's services a few months ago. Teams can buy second-round picks any time they want; getting a player who _might_ be good enough to crack a rotation immediately is well worth as many seconds as a team can conjure up.
Kolek was underrated coming out of college
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This is an important aspect to remember. It's not like Kolek was a totally obscure prospect who wasn't on anyone's radar. He led the nation in assists during his senior year and made two All-American teams. He was an incredible college player and was picked in the early stages of the second round in 2024. You're telling me he couldn't have helped the Hornets, Pelicans, Kings, or any other team in the gutter of the league? That's either bad scouting or just lazy front offices... Or both.
I digress. No team did trade for Kolek, and the Knicks are thrilled about it right now. Even before his breakout against the Spurs, his minutes were increasing in the month of December. Expect that rise to continue — and accelerate — now that he's stamped himself as a Knicks legend.
Everybody say thank you to Malcolm Brogdon for retiring and letting the Knicks keep Tyler Kolek and allowing Spike Lee to see the Knicks win a championship in his lifetime. That'll be a great NBA trivia question someday.