Mohamed Diawara could be the Knicks’ quiet beneficiary if New York can’t find a workable Pacome Dadiet trade.
That possibility comes down to roster math. The Knicks have only enough room under the second apron to keep one of their training-camp invites, and Stefan Bondy of the New York Post reported that the team would rather keep two players from a group that includes John Konchar, James Wiseman, Ochai Agbaji, Bruce Brown Jr. and Drew Eubanks.
To make that happen, New York would need to move Dadiet’s $2.9 million salary. Bondy’s read on the situation was blunt: Dadiet “has no value” on the trade market.
If that holds, the Knicks may be forced to live with the roster they have, and that would open a clearer path for Diawara.
The sophomore wing is the only bench player besides Dadiet who stands above 6-foot-4. Landry Shamet is listed at 6-foot-5, but even if that number is accurate, he does not profile as someone who can handle bigger defensive assignments or provide much help around the rim. Dadiet could theoretically fill that role if he were to completely reinvent himself, but that is not the expectation.
Diawara, on the other hand, does fit that lane.
The question gets murkier if the Knicks use one of their spots on a wing such as Konchar, Agbaji or Brown. Konchar offers physical play, rebounding and some presence when rotating near the basket.
Agbaji is more active at the rim than many realize and has enough bulk to deal with sturdier guards. Brown is undersized and not a rim protector, but he has shown he can defend across multiple positions in the right matchups.
Any of those additions would make Diawara’s path to minutes less straightforward. That said, the Knicks now appear more likely to use their 14th roster spot on a center instead, with Eubanks or Wiseman looking like the likelier fits.
That lines up with the bigger roster concern: New York is trying to sell the idea that it can enter the season with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond as its only centers under contract, but that is a hard setup to fully trust. It would take clean health and, in some cases, more minutes with OG Anunoby or Diawara at center.
It is possible. It is also dangerous.
So if the Knicks go the center route, Diawara’s role should stay intact. Dadiet is not pushing him out of the picture, and while Mike Brown will likely lean on Shamet in smaller lineups, Diawara’s length and size keep him in line for fourth-wing minutes in a lot of matchups.
That also leaves room for the obvious variable that can change a rotation in a hurry: injuries or rest nights for Anunoby, Josh Hart or, for the first time ever, Mikal Bridges.
So even if Dadiet sticks around and the Knicks miss out on another wing, that would still count as a meaningful win for Diawara, who could emerge as the team’s best young prospect with a firmer grip on the bench rotation.
In Other News...
Knicks Draft Regret Looks Even Worse With Dadiet Now Stuck
Pacome Dadiets place on the Knicks roster has become more complicated than it looked on draft night, and the concern now is less about what he might become than what it might cost to move him. New York has reportedly seen his trade value dip enough that any deal could require draft compensation, a reminder that second-round swings are not just about upside but about how much flexibility they leave a team later on.
That reality only sharpens the debate around last years draft board, where several players taken in the same range have already looked like cleaner fits. Kyshawn George, Terrence Shannon Jr., Ajay Mitchell, Jaylen Wells and Oso Ighodaro all came off the board around Dadiet, and each name makes the Knicks decision look a little heavier in retrospect, especially with salary structure and roster space now part of the equation. [Read more 🡒]
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The bigger issue is less about the paperwork than the possible distraction if negotiations drag on. Hart acknowledged the kind of uncertainty that can creep in when extension talks remain open, and he made clear he does not want the situation hanging over the team for long. For the Knicks, it is another reminder that even in a focused locker room, contract questions can quickly become part of the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Brunsons Knicks Reaction Made This Celtics Departure Feel Personal
Jalen Brunson has spent the early part of the Knicks summer acknowledging how much Mitchell Robinson meant to the group that reached the championship stage, while also turning the page toward what comes next. Robinsons departure leaves a real void in New Yorks frontcourt, and it is the kind of move that changes both the on-court rotation and the emotional feel of a locker room that had leaned on his presence.
Andre Drummond is now part of that answer, and Brunson sounded encouraged by what the veteran can bring to the mix. The Knicks do not have to wait long for the first test of the transition, either, with early-season matchups looming against the 76ers and Celtics, giving Drummond an immediate chance to settle in and see how New Yorks reshaped big-man group holds up against familiar competition. [Read more 🡒]