Knicks draft Mohamed Diawara, 6-8 forward from France
Cholet's Mohamed Diawara drives against PAOK during the first leg of the FIBA Europe Cup semifinals at PAOK Sports Arena in Thessaloniki, Greece, on March 26. Credit: SOOC/AFP via Getty Images/Konstantinos Tsakalidis
The NBA Draft’s drama mostly centered around Wednesday’s first round, when Knicks executives were holed up in their offices watching as the other hopeful teams chased star power.
For the Knicks, the draft didn’t start until Thursday, when the second round took place at Barclays Center and they had the 50th overall selection as their only pick.
While they were on the clock, the Knicks traded out of that spot, sending that selection to the Los Angeles Clippers for the 51st pick and the draft rights to Luka Mitrovic (a 32-year-old Serbian who was drafted originally in 2015). The Knicks then picked Mohamed Diawara, a 6-8 forward from France.
According to a league source, Diawara, who is close friends with the Knicks’ 2024 first-round pick Pacome Dadiet, will be at the Las Vegas Summer League with his contract status still to be determined.
The athletic forward has a defensive reputation but still might project as a draft-and-stash product, remaining overseas for another season as the Knicks try to keep their salary cap in order to add ready-to-help bench pieces.
While the Knicks hold their plans close to their vest, cutting off the traditional media availabilities of prospects working out at their facility, they have been successful in finding diamonds in the rough late in the draft. The latest came last season when they took Tyler Kolek in the second round and grabbed Ariel Hukporti with the 58th and final pick of the draft.
The history of the front office has been to shuttle up and down through the draft order, and they didn’t change this time. The Knicks already lost one second-round pick in this draft as a result of the tampering penalty in the free-agent pursuit of Jalen Brunson, which would have fallen at No. 56.
The Knicks currently have 11 players under contract for next season, including four rookies from last season — Dadiet, Kolek, Kevin McCullar and Hukporti — who could be a part of the mix for playing time with the team stressing player development and a deeper use of the roster in the wake of the firing of coach Tom Thibodeau. That makes it a long shot that a late second-round pick is going to crack the rotation.
It’s certainly more difficult to figure out what type of player the team would search for in the draft or in free agency until the Knicks settle on a coach and a system.
And there are other issues, too, with Mikal Bridges eligible for a contract extension as of Wednesday worth as much as four years and $156 million. The decision there could limit flexibility in the future.
The Knicks have invested heavily in their starting five and have a top-heavy roster with only Mitchell Robinson and Deuce McBride contributing to the rotation off the bench among players who are under contract for next season.
The Knicks are below the second apron and could free up more space if they move any of the veteran contracts. There are some whispers around the NBA that Robinson might be available. Robinson’s cap hit is $14.3 million until the salary cap year ends this week and drops to $12.9 million for next season as his four-year, $60 million deal was on a descending scale.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
