Mohamed Diawara’s Las Vegas Summer League showing was rough enough to catch the Knicks’ eye, but it shouldn’t send them into panic mode.
The second-year wing managed only seven points on 1-of-14 shooting across nearly 50 minutes, and he was just 1-of-10 from deep. All of that damage came in his second and final game in Vegas. In the opener against the San Antonio Spurs, he went scoreless on five shot attempts over 23-plus minutes.
That’s not the kind of stat line a team shrugs off, especially for a player who already flashed enough last season to earn a real role. Diawara showed defensive versatility and a more polished offensive game than many expected, and he spent a big chunk of the year in the rotation. Now that he’s on a four-year deal to remain with New York, the bar is naturally higher than it is for most 51st-overall picks.
Still, the Knicks would be making a mistake if they treated this summer as a clean read on his future. The setup around him was clunky from the start. Diawara was playing with a group of teammates he had no real on-court history with, and New York didn’t bring a true floor general to Vegas.
Jack Kayil, Dillon Jones, and Pacome Dadiet handled most of the ball-handling and playmaking. Jaden Atkins didn’t take on a bigger role until after Diawara was shut down. None of those players were built to run the offense in a way that would make Diawara’s life easier.
And that matters. More than 80 percent of Diawara’s made baskets as a rookie came off assists, which tells you exactly how he tends to score.
He’s more effective as a spot-up option and as a catch-and-go driver with space to work. That kind of environment never really showed up in Summer League.
The left finger injury that kept him out of New York’s final three games only adds another layer of caution. So does the fact that he was coming off a championship run and celebration. There’s plenty here to explain why the results looked so flat.
Could the Knicks have wanted more force on his drives? Absolutely.
Would it have helped to leave Las Vegas feeling better about his on-ball game? Sure.
But there’s a difference between struggling outside your comfort zone and revealing some fatal flaw.
For now, the clearest takeaway is simple: at 21, Diawara needs more playmaking around him if he’s going to make a real offensive impact.
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