The Knicks have wasted no time digging through their roster in search of something that works. Through three games, Mike Brown has already used 13 different players, and that number includes Jaden Akins, who made his NBA debut Sunday in a 25-second cameo. All of that has happened with no garbage time to lean on and only one injury absence, Jose Alvarado sitting out the third game.
Yet one name still hasn’t cracked the mix: Mohamed Diawara.
That stands out because Diawara was around plenty last season. As a rookie, he appeared in 69 of 82 regular season games, and plenty of people expected the 21-year-old to have a bigger role in Year 2. Instead, he’s been left on the outside looking in while the Knicks try to stop a 0-3 start from snowballing.
Now is the time for Brown to widen the search and give Diawara a look.
New York could use more usable size off the bench, especially after Mitchell Robinson left for the Boston Celtics. Andre Drummond has already been pulled for a second half, and James Wiseman still hasn’t done enough to quiet the doubts.
Diawara isn’t as big as those options, but at 6-foot-9, he brings more length than New York’s other key reserves. Landry Shamet, Miles McBride, Jordan Clarkson and Jose Alvarado all check in at 6-foot-5 or shorter.
That frame matters. With a wingspan of about 7 feet 4 inches, Diawara has the tools to make things uncomfortable for opposing offenses. He has the profile of a player who can bother shots, switch with some purpose and make his presence felt once he gets more run.
There’s offensive value there too. Diawara has shown he’s willing to let it fly from deep, and he made 36.9 percent of his three-point attempts in his rookie season. He even had a game where he launched 13 threes.
The biggest question is whether Brown can use him as a small-ball five. That would help cover some of the backup center issues, but it’s also an area Brown has barely explored. According to Basketball-Reference, Diawara spent just 1 percent of his minutes at center last season.
He’s not without flaws. Rebounding has never been his strongest trait, and his summer league and preseason were uneven. Even so, he’s already shown he can handle real games, which is more than can be said for every option in the mix.
The Knicks re-signed Diawara quickly this past offseason on a four-year deal worth about $11.3 million after he became a restricted free agent. With second-apron concerns hanging over the roster, it makes sense to see whether a young, low-cost player can become part of the answer.
In Other News...
Knicks May Have Pulled Off Another Quiet Draft-Night Win
The Knicks used the 30th pick on Sergio de Larrea, then quickly turned that selection into a different kind of asset by sending his rights to the Mavericks for two future second-round picks. It was the sort of maneuver that fits neatly with how New York has tried to work around its salary cap limitations, squeezing value wherever it can find it instead of simply standing pat on draft night.
De Larrea was already playing professionally in Spain, and soon after the draft he helped Valencia win the Liga ACB title, adding another layer to a player the Knicks never intended to keep. New York also knew Dallas had been linked to him and had the front office ties to make the deal work, which is why this looked less like a pass on a prospect and more like a calculated bet on information and timing. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Just Got Pulled Into A Wild Karl-Anthony Towns Trade Idea
The Knicks have been pulled into an early-season trade idea that already feels bigger than the standings around it. Miami opened with a 0-4 start after reshaping its roster in a blockbuster deal with Milwaukee for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis, and the rough beginning has only fueled chatter about how the new pieces fit with Bam Adebayo still anchoring the frontcourt.
What makes the speculation more interesting from New Yorks side is the path some are floating to get there: a swap centered on Adebayo and Tim Hardaway Jr. for Karl-Anthony Towns. Nothing has been confirmed by Miami, and the Heat could easily give the group more time to settle in, but the mere fact the Knicks are part of this kind of conversation says a lot about how quickly the league starts chasing the next big idea when a new roster stumbles out of the gate. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Already Have A Real Andre Drummond Debate On Their Hands
Andre Drummonds first few weeks as the Knicks backup center have already turned into a small but real rotation conversation. He opened the 2026-27 season with a double-double, then saw his minutes dip in the next games as Mike Brown adjusted the lineup, a familiar kind of early-season sorting-out process for a team still figuring out how it wants to use its depth. Even so, Brown has made clear Drummond remains in the backup mix, which matters for a bench frontcourt that needs a dependable presence when the starters sit.
Drummond gave the Knicks a reminder of why that role is worth monitoring in the win over Detroit, when he scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 14 minutes. It was a cleaner, more productive showing than some of his earlier outings, and it gave New York a useful glimpse of what he can offer when the minutes are there. The larger question now is whether that performance is the start of a steadier climb back into a bigger share of the center rotation. [Read more 🡒]