Alexander Wilson
The Knicks just made the kind of move that will not dominate the week, but absolutely matters once the cap sheet starts getting annoying.
Restricted free agent Mohamed Diawara intends to return to New York on a multiyear deal worth more than $10 million, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Diawara was the No. 51 pick in last year’s NBA Draft and spent his rookie season on a standard contract with the Knicks.
This is not a blockbuster, and it is not supposed to be. Leon Rose is keeping a young, cheap, developmental forward in the building while the rest of the roster gets expensive around the title core.
The Knicks needed this kind of cheap retention
Mohamed Diawara appeared in 69 regular-season games as a rookie, averaging 3.6 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 9.2 minutes. Nobody should pretend those numbers scream future star. They do not.
But they do scream useful roster control, and that matters for a championship team that cannot solve every bench question with veteran money. Diawara is 21, athletic, long, and already showed enough defensive comfort to justify keeping the bet alive.
Mohamed Diawara gives the Knicks another development card
The Knicks are going to have louder decisions than this one. Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado, and the second-apron conversation will get more oxygen because those situations are messier.
Diawara is cleaner. Keep the young forward, pay a manageable number, and see if Mike Brown can turn his tools into real rotation minutes. I like that kind of move because it does not try to be too clever.
The Knicks do not need Diawara to become a savior. They need him to become playable, cheap, and trustworthy enough to absorb regular-season minutes while the main group stays fresh. If that happens, this $10-plus million bet will look like common sense by January.
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