Knicks Must Prioritize Mohamed Diawara's Development

Coming off winning the NBA Cup, the New York Knicks were down five rotation pieces, including two starters, for their game against Indiana last week. In a surprising move, head coach Mike Brown called on the seldom used Mohamed Diawara to start.

In the rookies' first career start, Diawara scored the game’s first bucket and contributed five points, 3 rebounds and a steal in a season-high 19 minutes. He went back to the bench the last two contests, seeing just 7 total minutes. The 20-year-old has played more than six minutes in a game just three times and has totaled 81 mostly garbage time minutes.

The Young Rookie Hasn't Seen Much Playing Time

"He's so young, just needs minutes, but it's hard. I want to send him to the G-League, but we just don't have enough bodies up here,” Brown admitted. “So anytime I can find time for him I'm going to do it because he has a chance to be really good in this league.”

New York Knicks fans have become a little more familiar with their minor league affiliate in Westchester over recent seasons. Deuce McBride and Jericho Sims rode the Westchester shuttle during their early days. Last year, Tyler Kolek, Ariel Hukporti and Pacome Dadiet bounced back and forth between the G-League and parent club.

Players no longer need to catch flies at the end of a bench. They can get meaningful reps under the same terminology and schemes used by the big club. For players as raw as Diawara, the G-League presents a place that can be a waiting room if meaningful NBA minutes aren’t available.

The G-League Could Be A Valuable Asset For Diawara

It seemed that Diawara would be a stash candidate after being drafted 51st overall in June. but he made his presence felt in in summer league. Despite not posting eye popping stats with an average of seven points and 5.3 rebounds in four games, the Frenchman brought high energy, attacked loose balls and was willing to initiate in transition after grabbing rebounds.

The combination of defensive length and a relentless motor earned Diawara a standard NBA contract. He has shown elite lateral quickness and ability to be a switchable defender. He can protect the rim and has a better feel to the game than expected. Some of his most impressive stuff doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.