While the Knicks keep one eye on how they’ll use their 14th roster spot before opening night, the bigger question may already be settled: they need Mohamed Diawara to grow up fast.
That need has less to do with hype than with the shape of the roster around him. New York has loaded up on perimeter talent with OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart, but the bench wing group looks thin.
Pacome Dadiet is the only other properly sized wing coming off the bench, and he hasn’t shown much so far as a pro. Landry Shamet is the closest thing to another option, though at 6’5” he fits more comfortably as a guard.
That makes Diawara unusually important for a player coming off a promising rookie season and a summer-league stretch he’d probably rather forget. The Knicks clearly trust what he showed last year, when he earned spot rotation minutes on the eventual champion and then got locked in before another team could take him. Now that investment has turned into expectation.
The center picture only pushes more responsibility his way. Right now, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond are the only true 5s on the roster, and they can’t share the floor together.
Last season, New York occasionally leaned on dual-big looks with Towns and Mitchell Robinson, which gave the team more flexibility on the wings. That avenue is gone now, and it’s unlikely to come back if the Knicks use that final roster spot on a third big, as expected.
Drummond’s arrival also changes the defensive math. Compared with Robinson, he’s a clear step down on the perimeter and has only graded out as an above-average rim protector once in the last 11 years. That means the Knicks will need help around him, especially from forwards who can cover ground, clean up mistakes and keep the defense from cracking behind him.
Anunoby can do that and then some, but New York can’t simply park him next to Drummond all the time without cutting into his minutes with Towns. Hart brings more shot contesting at the rim than most wings, but he’s still 6’5”. Bridges has the length, but not the brute force to shoulder all that interior cleanup.
So the pressure lands on Diawara. At 6’9” with a 7’4” wingspan, the physical profile is there even if the strength still has to come.
That’s usually the sort of leap teams ask from second-year players anyway. And in this case, the Knicks may not just want that growth - they may need it to survive the regular season.
New York can ease some of that burden if it adds another wing or if the Anunoby-Bridges-Hart trio stays pristine all year. But realistically, the Knicks appear to be counting on Diawara for far more than a nice story. In the absence of a surprise move for another combo wing or a more versatile big, he could be asked to soak up at least 1,200 minutes - about twice what he played last season, and possibly even more.
In Other News...
Knicks Have A Second-Unit Decision That Could Shape Their Ceiling
The Knicks early rotation questions are not really about who starts at this point, but about which combinations can keep the game on the right track once the first wave of stars heads to the bench. With Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns all anchoring different parts of the lineup puzzle, the coaching staff is digging into past minutes together and looking for groupings that can juice the teams overall performance without sacrificing the defensive structure that has to hold the whole thing together.
Andre Drummond is one of the more interesting pieces in that search, because his minutes can change the shape of the floor in a hurry depending on who is beside him. And beyond the veteran big-man wrinkle, there is also a younger option in Mohamed Diawara who has shown enough in a tiny sample alongside Towns to at least stay on the radar as the Knicks sort through which second-unit look gives them the best chance to raise their ceiling. [Read more 🡒]
Pacome Dadiet Faces A Tough Knicks Battle He Must Win Soon
Pacome Dadiet enters a crucial stretch for the Knicks as the 21-year-old wing tries to turn a sparse rookie-year sample into a real rotation case. Taken with the No. 25 pick in 2024, Dadiet spent most of last season on the margins, getting only limited run while the team leaned on more established options, and now he is trying to show enough progress to matter in a much tighter race for minutes.
The challenge is straightforward even if the path is not: New York has a crowded wing picture, and every practice rep in training camp and every possession in preseason will carry added weight for Dadiet. For a young player in his spot, the margin for error is thin, and the Knicks will be watching closely to see whether he can force his way into the conversation before the rotation decisions start to harden. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks May Have To Cash In On Miles McBride Soon
Miles McBride has become one of the more interesting roster questions on the Knicks books, not because of what he lacks, but because of what New York has already committed to elsewhere. The team is said to be cautious about extending him as it weighs bigger financial priorities tied to Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson, which leaves McBride in a tricky spot despite the value he has built in his role.
From there, the logic gets a little uncomfortable for the front office: if the Knicks believe his market is at a high point, moving him now could be the cleanest way to turn that value into help elsewhere, possibly in the form of a backup center or another player with longer team control. It is the kind of decision that can look prudent in October and very different by winter, but for now New York appears to be considering whether to cash in before the situation gets harder to manage. [Read more 🡒]