Knicks have difficult decision to make about 20-year-old French forward

New York Knicks second-year forward Pacome Dadiet has a ton of upside, but his place on the team is in jeopardy given their current situation.

Knicks may need to trade Pacome Dadiet

The Knicks signed Malcolm Brogdon and Landry Shamet to non-guaranteed contracts this offseason. The expectation is that both players will make the active roster, but a trade must occur for that to become a reality.

Dadiet has been one of the players whose name has been floated around in trade rumors. He has the most value out of the younger players, given his youth (20 years old) and the upside he has as a player.

The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III reported that the Knicks have debated the idea of trading the former first-round pick, but it is growing increasingly difficult.

“Per multiple league sources, the Knicks have had conversations with teams about Dadiet. The 20-year-old Frenchman is New York’s most intriguing prospect, even if he still has a way to go to be a regular contributor. For what it’s worth, I’ve also heard Dadiet has had a good summer behind the scenes and has made it harder for New York to potentially trade him,” Edwards wrote.

Dadiet has no clear path to playing time

The 6-foot-8 Dadiet has the potential to become a very solid rotation piece. He has shown strong defensive glimpses while also being a capable three-point shooter during his brief NBA career, and he put those skills on display more during Summer League as well.

The main problem is that Dadiet has no clear path to consistent playing time. The Knicks signed Guerschon Yabusele in the offseason to give them more depth in the frontcourt, and he will likely get the bulk of the backup forward minutes behind OG Anunoby.

Therefore, Dadiet would likely be out of the rotation once again, which could potentially stall his development. Moving him into a better situation while also prioritizing veterans for a championship push may be the best course of action for the Knicks.

Nevertheless, the preseason could determine quite a lot about Dadiet’s future with the team. They begin their preseason slate on Thursday with a matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers in Abu Dhabi.