The Knicks’ preseason opener in Philadelphia didn’t tell you much about the final score. A 120-97 loss with 20 different Knickerbockers in the mix and the Sixers missing Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and LeBron James was always going to be more about the details than the result.
And the details were the point.
Andre Drummond gave the first real glimpse of what the Knicks may be getting at center, and the contrast with Mitchell Robinson was impossible to miss. Drummond missed a free throw late in the first quarter, and nobody seemed bothered.
More importantly, he showed layers Robinson never really brought to the floor. He attacked off the dribble from 15 feet out, took a three, and even worked into a post-up and finished a basket.
Robinson would not be trying any of that.
At the same time, Drummond still supplied the basics New York needs from a center. In 12 minutes, he finished with five rebounds and three blocked shots.
Robinson has long given the Knicks a nightly edge at the position, whether paired with Isaiah Hartenstein or Karl-Anthony Towns. Drummond may not match Robinson’s ceiling, but if he can handle most of those same jobs while adding a few extra wrinkles, the Knicks can keep that advantage intact.
James Wiseman made his own case in a shorter stretch, and it was all about size. The 6-foot-11 big man played nine minutes and showed exactly how useful height can be.
He grabbed multiple offensive rebounds, controlled boards on both ends, and kept pressuring the rim. Tyler Kolek fed him for an alley-oop, and on another play Wiseman drew a shooting foul while trying to dunk.
He also bailed Kolek out on a break, taking a pass in motion at least 20 feet from the basket and turning it into a foul on the play.
For a player who has disappointed teams looking for more, New York doesn’t need Wiseman to be everything. The Knicks just need him to be tall, and ready when called. So far, that has been enough.
There were other reserve flashes too. Pacome Dadiet knocked down a couple of long looks late.
Tyler Nickel delivered an encouraging help-side rejection. Kevin McCullar Jr. packed a lot into a short run.
But the most important bench minutes came from Mohamed Diawara.
Diawara looked like he picked up right where he left off last season, racing around the floor on both ends and making himself impossible to ignore. One play summed it up: he hustled back in transition to block a shot he could have easily conceded. That kind of effort is a big reason the Knicks were eager to sign him to a four-year extension that begins this season.
With OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart ahead of him, Diawara has the luxury of developing slowly. His length and 3-and-D profile give the Knicks a real piece to work with. And if Drummond, Drew Eubanks and the other third-center options never really grab hold, Diawara’s preseason play could matter even more if New York decides to use him in a trade.
At this point, that may be the biggest takeaway: Diawara making noise in October might end up mattering more than some of the bigger names doing it, depending on where the Knicks go from here.
In Other News...
Bruce Brown Is Suddenly In A Knicks Fight Fans Didn't Expect
Bruce Browns path to New York has been shaped as much by the leagues new spending rules as by his own rsum. The 30-year-old forward, long valued as a high-energy bench piece, landed with the Knicks on a training camp deal after drawing limited interest elsewhere, a reminder of how the NBAs second apron has made life harder for veteran free agents hunting for the kind of stable, longer-term opportunity Brown once would have had.
Now Brown is simply trying to stick, which is a different challenge entirely. Training camp invitations always carry an edge of uncertainty, but in this case the Knicks depth chart leaves little room for comfort, and the competition for a roster spot has become the real story as New York sorts out its back end before opening night. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Opener Got Pulled Into A LeBron Embiid Tension Story
The Knicks preseason opener wound up carrying a little extra chatter before the ball was even tipped, thanks to a Mike Breen mention of a story involving LeBron James and Joel Embiid. The buzz centered on an alleged incident in which James supposedly reprimanded Embiid for being late to a 76ers practice, a bit of sideline gossip that quickly spread beyond the game itself even though neither star took part in the matchup against New York.
LeBron publicly pushed back on the tale on Instagram, while Embiid has stayed quiet. Inside the 76ers, the picture has sounded much calmer, with reports indicating the groups practices and workouts have been viewed in positive terms. For the Knicks, it meant a preseason game briefly got pulled into a bigger league conversation, the sort of off-court thread that can linger even when the players at the center of it are not on the floor. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Are Running Into A Harsh Pacome Dadiet Reality
Pacome Dadiets first year in New York has not exactly given the Knicks much leverage. The team is said to be exploring ways to move the young wing in order to clear a roster spot and create a little more salary-cap flexibility, but the market has not responded the way they had hoped. After a lukewarm Summer League, World Cup qualifiers and preseason showing, Dadiet has not built the kind of buzz that usually helps a player become a useful trade chip.
For the Knicks, that leaves a familiar front office problem: trying to turn a roster logjam into a clean solution without paying too high a price. There has been no concrete deal reported, and the lack of outside interest suggests New York may have to get creative to get anything done. For now, Dadiet remains on the roster and the team is still looking for a path forward that fits both the cap sheet and the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]