How Have the Knicks' Summer Acquisitions Aged So Far?

Jordan Clarkson soon joined Yabusele as a new Knick, having been nought out by the Utah Jazz after an extensive, Sixth Man of the Year-winning stint as one of the wilder bucket-generators around. While he was much more of a known quantity than his French counterpart, New York knew just what they were getting with him; he'd save some possessions before giving up a few more on defense, a part of the game he never seemed particularly interested in.

Fast forward 55 games, and neither of those acquisitions are featured as regularly-trusted Knicks. Yabusele isn't even on the squad anymore, having been finally traded to the Chicago Bulls after his style instantly proved incompatible with the minimized role that head coach Mike Brown had in store for him, while Clarkson's slipped under 20 minutes per game for the first time in his career due to his erratic style of play.

Again, his shooting was always predicted to come and go, but the defense proved untenable for a Knicks team trying to build a reputation on that side of the floor. That's what the Knicks got wrong about their offseason approach; Brunson can look alone when he doesn't have enough scoring on the wings, but so long as he has the defenders and enough play-finishers to keep the score increasing, they'd have been fine.

That's where their final subtle snag of the summer came in handy. Landry Shamet isn't just back as a shooter; his quietly intense perimeter defense is just what Brown needed out of a bench performer, as he's been one of the most consistent Knicks within his rotation throughout the majority of their games.

He wasn't ever meant to mean this much to the Knicks, but here he is, knocking down a career-high 42.2% of his long bombs and receiving regular shoutouts as one of the best screen navigators and hustlers of the group. Considering he only arrived to New York by earning his keep in training camp after months of going unsigned, he's put the summer class of free agent Knicks on his back.

Adding Through the Draft

Those signings were expected to be different for the Knicks, who, after adding four young prospects to their system in Tyler Kolek, Ariel Hukporti, Pacome Dadiet and Kevin McCullar Jr., didn't have much other draft capital to play around with in preparing for the 2025 prospect cycle.

All they entered the draft with was the 51st pick, a selection spot that's typically produced very few big-league options over the years. With that fringe asset, they picked up Mohamed Diawara, a projected foreign draft-and-stash option to keep tabs on down the line.

The Knicks were not ready for how quickly Diawara would lap all of his young counterparts, fitting into the NBA smoother than most of his fellow rookies as a well-rounded wing. He can shoot and defend with high enough feel that reveals itself through his ball-movement, providing Brown with a reserve forward who he can trust behind his usual starters.

Shamet's been huge in spacing the floor and providing some much-needed depth, and Diawara's impressed for many of those same reasons. But unlike the veteran, the 20-year-old wing profiles as a long-term bet to continue developing in the Knicks' contending situation, making for one of their best-value draft picks in years. As rocky as the high-profile additions were to New York, these margin adds have completely saved the front office's bacon to fortify a championship-caliber roster.