Mo Diawara doesn’t have the luxury of easing into anything with the Knicks.
New York’s season is only just beginning, but the pressure around Diawara is already real, and it has less to do with hype than with timing. The Knicks are coming off a run that ended with a trophy, and as Jalen Brunson said on Media Day, the opening stretch matters immediately.
“The first couple of weeks of the season are going to show us who we are,” Jalen Brunson.
That’s the backdrop for Diawara’s year. The Knicks didn’t reshape the roster with a major offseason splash the way the Sixers, Celtics, Raptors and Heat did, so any real internal growth has to come from somewhere. Diawara is the player who makes the most sense as that swing piece.
He’s also stepping into a situation where opportunity and instability can look a lot alike. Diawara backs up OG Anunoby and Josh Hart, and both of those minutes can pile up quickly.
Anunoby never got to 2,100 minutes in any of his five full seasons in Toronto. In New York, he’s already done that in three of four years, and he’s logged twice as many postseason minutes as a Knick as he did as a Raptor.
Hart’s workload tells a similar story. Last season was lighter by his standards, but his postseason total in New York still matches what he usually carries across an entire regular season.
That’s why Diawara matters beyond simple depth. The Knicks don’t have much draft capital to dangle in trades, and they don’t have cap space to play with.
If Tyler Kolek or Pacome Dadiet doesn’t make a surprising third-year jump, Diawara may be New York’s clearest path to meaningful development. A year from now, he could be in the rotation conversation, moved in a trade, or sitting on less value than he has now.
The range is huge, and so is the wingspan - 7-foot-4.
But there’s no clean runway here. Diawara and Miles McBride are the Knicks’ most appealing trade pieces, and New York could easily choose a more established route if the start of the season goes sideways or if Karl-Anthony Towns or Andre Drummond gets hurt.
In that case, the team might lean toward a journeyman center instead of waiting on Diawara’s upside. Even a strong showing from Diawara wouldn’t guarantee he stays put.
He’s also fighting through a crowded camp picture. Bruce Brown brings championship experience from three years ago, and Ochai Agbaji arrives as a recent lottery pick. If the Knicks decide the cleanest win-now move is to flip Diawara for a fit like Jericho Sims and then fill the spot with one of the camp invites, that path is on the table too.
So the message for Diawara is pretty simple: nothing about this is slow-moving. Between the competition around him, his trade value and the Knicks’ need to start fast, every day carries weight. The best thing he can do is keep showing the best version of himself, as quickly and as often as possible.
In Other News...
Josh Harts Lingering Injury Just Became A Real Knicks Concern
Josh Hart has been carrying more than the usual wear and tear into the Knicks new season. The veteran guard is still dealing with the right ring finger injury he sustained in the 2025 playoffs, and he has been taping it up ever since to keep playing through the discomfort. Even with the issue hanging over him, Hart pushed through the 2025-26 season and turned in a career-high three-point shooting percentage, a reminder of how much value he still brought while working around the problem.
The concern now is less about whether Hart can gut it out and more about what comes next. He has said the injurys only surgical fix would be a joint replacement, a route that would effectively end his playing career, so the choice is not a simple one. For a Knicks team that leans on Harts energy, toughness and versatility, his ability to manage the finger while weighing his future adds a real layer of uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Camp Shuffle Just Raised A Bigger Question In The Frontcourt
The Knicks have been busy sorting through the back end of their preseason roster, and the latest moves only add to the churn around camp. Tony Bradley arrived on an Exhibit 9 contract, Jaden Akins was waived to open space for a two-way deal, and Toby Okani landed another non-guaranteed look with the club after signing an Exhibit 10 contract, his second such agreement with New York this month.
The frontcourt shuffle is the part worth watching, especially with John Konchar and NFaly Dante also placed on waivers as the team keeps trimming and adjusting ahead of the season. Konchar and the Knicks had already been heading toward a split after he spent time away from the team this week for a personal matter, leaving New York to keep piecing together a camp group that still has some spots and decisions to settle. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Just Made Another Quiet Roster Decision Worth Watching
The Knicks continued to churn the back end of their roster with another move aimed at keeping options open, signing free agent guard Jaden Akins to a two-way contract. It fills out New Yorks three two-way slots, putting Akins alongside Kevin McCullar Jr. and Tyler Nickel as the team sorts through its developmental pipeline heading into the next stretch.
The larger roster picture has been just as active, with the Knicks waiving John Konchar and NFaly Dante, signing and waiving Toby Okani, and bringing in Tony Bradley on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract. Akins path is the one worth monitoring most closely, though, given how often he has already surfaced in New Yorks recent roster churn before landing this latest opportunity. [Read more 🡒]