Mohamed Diawara's Knicks Pressure Just Turned Up a Notch

The Knicks didn’t make a seismic move this offseason like the Sixers, Celtics, Raptors and Heat all did. Any player improvement will be almost entirely sourced from within, and no other player tantalizes the imagination quite like Diawara.

Mohamed Diawara could totally change Knicks' outlook if he impresses

Entropy suggests he’ll be needed sooner than later. Diawara primarily backs up OG Anunoby and Josh Hart. In his five full seasons with Toronto, Anunoby never played 2,100 minutes. He has three of his four years in New York, while playing twice as many postseason minutes as a Knick than as a Raptor.

Last year was a relative breeze by Hart’s standards: after finishing 24th, 11th and second in minutes played from 2023-25, he was only 80th last year. But add up Hart’s postseason minutes in New York and it’s what he normally plays in a full regular season.

Diawara’s significance isn’t solely as insurance for the Knicks' current wings. They have little to offer teams in trade as far as draft capital and no cap space to work with. Unless Tyler Kolek or Pacome Dadiet take an unexpected third-year leap, Diawara is the Knicks’ best hope for meaningful player development. A year from now he could have made a case for a rotation spot, been traded or lost much of his current trade value. The range is as long as his 7-foot-4 wingspan.

That doesn’t mean he has an open runway to find his wings. Diawara and Miles McBride are the Knicks’ most appealing trade candidates; if they get off to a slow start or suffer an injury to Karl-Anthony Towns or Andre Drummond, they’re more likely to forget about Diawara’s upside in favor of a journeyman center who offers none. Diawara could play the best ball of his life and still get traded. That's a certain kind of pressure.

Not to mention all the veteran wings New York’s brought in to compete for a roster spot. Bruce Brown helped a team win a title only three years ago. Ochai Agbaji was a recent lottery pick. If the Knicks are all-in on winning again this year, swapping Diawara in a trade for a seamless fit like Jericho Sims and then signing one of the camp invites might be the better way to go.

We still don’t know what’s next for Diawara. But between his training camp competitors, his trade value and the Knicks wanting to get off to a strong start, wherever he is, whatever the role, things happen fast. The best thing he can do for himself and the Knicks is be the best version of himself as quickly and as often as he can.