The Knicks have given Mohamed Diawara a new deal, but they’ve also built in an escape hatch.
New York officially announced a batch of previously reported agreements this week, including Diawara’s four-year contract worth $11.2 million. On paper, it’s a strong show of faith in a rookie with promise and youth. In practice, the structure tells you the Knicks are keeping one eye on the upside and the other on the door.
According to The Athletic’s Fred Katz, only the first two years of Diawara’s deal are guaranteed. That means New York could move on without any cap hit as soon as the 2028-29 season, and then would have the option to split freely in 2029-30.
Mohamed Diawara's four-year, $11.2 million contract with the Knicks is guaranteed only for the first two seasons, league source tells @TheAthletic. Starts at $2.6 million salary in 2026-27.
That doesn’t mean the Knicks expect to cut bait. There’s enough in Diawara’s early showing to suggest they see something worth developing. Even as a rookie this past season, he earned some trust and flashed intriguing 3-and-D potential along with ball-handling ability.
If that growth continues, Diawara could turn into the kind of value piece every contender wants - something along the lines of a Miles McBride-type player who can handle a real role without costing much. That kind of outcome would matter for New York in more than one way, whether it helps stretch the team’s title window, nudges the starting group in a new direction, or creates a trade chip with real value.
But the Knicks are not acting like this is a finished product. Diawara’s rookie sample was small - 69 games, 9.2 minutes per game - and that kind of run can only tell you so much.
Looking good against deep bench players is one thing. Doing it against actual NBA rotation pieces is another.
The playoff stretch didn’t exactly settle the debate. Diawara had some rough moments, struggled to make a strong impression in garbage time with a -12 postseason mark, and played in only one of the nine games after the second round. That’s not shocking for a late-picked rookie, but it also didn’t do much to convince anyone he’s already a sure thing.
New York’s roster choices say plenty too. The Knicks brought back Landry Shamet on a much more expensive deal, and there’s also buzz around a Jordan Clarkson return. That leaves Diawara in a familiar spot: on the roster, but not necessarily near the front of the line for minutes.
The team is still sending him through Summer League even after the extension, which says the questions around him haven’t gone away. There’s still work to do before the Knicks fully commit.
So Diawara enters this next stage with a real deadline hanging over him. His chances to play may be limited by the roster and by the demands of chasing a title, but the opportunity is still there to prove he belongs in the rotation for the long haul.
If he can turn those flashes into something more substantial when it matters, the payoff could be significant. If not, the Knicks have a clean exit waiting for them - and with James Dolan’s spending cap in place, they’d have every reason to use it.
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