Tyler Kolek and Mohamed Diawara are running into a tougher reality in New York before the season even gets rolling: the Knicks may not have the kind of easy nights that once helped young players sneak into the rotation.
Under the NBA’s new lottery setup, teams have far less incentive to drift toward the bottom, and that change has already started to reshape the league. For a contender like the Knicks, it means fewer soft spots on the schedule and less room to experiment when games get out of hand. The path for development minutes just got narrower.
That matters because Kolek and Diawara were never guaranteed much anyway. Even if Mike Brown wanted to be generous with rest and manage the workload for his main group, there still wasn’t a clean lane to consistent playing time. As Ian Begley of SNY put it in his latest mailbag, “it’s hard to see any of the young non-rotation players making consistent, significant contributions this season.”
Kolek’s situation looks especially crowded. The Knicks have a packed bench backcourt, with Deuce McBride, Jose Alvarado, and Landry Shamet all ahead of him. Jordan Clarkson could also be in front of him, if last postseason is any guide.
Diawara has a more workable opening because of the roster makeup. He’s the only properly sized and playable wing outside the starting lineup, which gives him a chance whenever someone sits or gets hurt. New York’s apparent plan to open the season with just two centers also points toward smaller second units, and that makes Diawara’s 6’9” frame and 7’4” wingspan even more valuable if the Knicks don’t add another big right away.
Still, both players need the Knicks to have enough margin for their mistakes, and that margin may be disappearing. With more teams trying to win, games that once looked safe may not be safe at all. The final quarter of the season could be especially unforgiving.
Matchups with rebuilding teams like the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Bulls after the trade deadline won’t automatically count as easy wins anymore. And with playoff seeding in play, New York may not be able to ease off the accelerator in the second half.
If Kolek and Diawara are going to become more than emergency options, they have to help the Knicks win. For Kolek, that means sharpening his pull-up jumper, playing with more scoring aggression, and cutting down live-ball turnovers. For Diawara, it means knocking down threes the way he did in the first half of last season and getting stronger so he can defend higher up the positional ladder.
The Knicks clearly have interest in both players’ futures. But interest alone won’t be enough now. In this lottery era, even a team with title expectations can’t afford many wasted possessions, much less many wasted minutes.
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