Facing a potential roster crunch, the New York Knicks may be inching toward bidding adieu to Pacome Dadiet.
The Knicks may be forced to make a trade in order to keep some of their recent additions like Malcolm Brogdon, Garrison Mathews, and Landry Shamet. Longtime insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line hinted that homegrown project and reserve guard Pacome Dadiet may be one of the names most likely to be dealt, especially after the Knicks granted him an unexpected start during the first two exhibition showings in Abu Dhabi last week.
“Sources tell The Stein Line that the Knicks have already called several teams to gauge interest in Pacome Dadiet," Fischer said in The Stein Line's latest newsletter (h/t New York Basketball on X). "When I was working the phones Friday, numerous teams were convinced New York had Dadiet in the starting lineup Thursday purely to showcase him."
Dadiet, the most recent first-round pick to take the floor for the Knicks, has played sparingly since arriving from France as the 25th choice in 2024. He averaged less than seven minutes a game in 18 appearances and a big opportunity unfortunately went by the wayside when he endured an injury during Summer League play in Las Vegas.
As mentioned by Fischer, he was in the Knicks' starting lineup in the first of two preseason stagings against the Philadelphia 76ers but struggled to the tune of shooting 1-of-6 with three turnovers while stepping in for the injured OG Anunoby. He played eight minutes with the Knicks' reserves in the rematch's second half, missing two tries from the field with two fouls and an offensive rebound.
Knicks head coach Mike Brown addressed the Dadiet situation in between games, saying that observers "[shouldn't] take into account too much that he started in the last game" while expressing interest in his potential, particularly on the defensive end.
“He could be a monster defensively. He’s just got to play with a sense of urgency defensively and awareness every single possession,” Brown said, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “Every once in a while he just relaxes and when he relaxes, he’s not using his length, his athleticism and all the other attributes that he has that makes him a great defender.”
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