ORLANDO — Not all rookie opportunities are created equal. The young players on the Knicks know this as well as anyone. The lottery picks with star labels tend to get the minutes, the mistakes, the leeway.
The second-rounders, the late picks, the fringe rotation guys on win-now teams? They can fade into the background. They can live in the G-League. They can spend months preparing for a chance that never comes.
And then there are the rookies who never expect to see the court this early, never expect to be relied upon in real minutes, but prepare anyway — quietly, obsessively, behind the scenes — in case the head coach finally looks down the bench and says their name.
Mike Brown is saying “Mo,” and suddenly, the Knicks need Mohamed Diawara more than they planned. The 20-year-old French rookie has waited patiently. Now his opportunity is here — not in theory, not in garbage time, but in a moment that matters.
“I’m a rookie, so I feel like I’m just waiting on my chance and waiting on my turn. I’m not rushing anything,” Diawara told the Daily News before Saturday’s game against the Magic. “I’m just waiting and trusting what the coach is doing. That’s it. I’m just waiting for my time.”
His time arrived in the most chaotic sequence imaginable. OG Anunoby was already out with a hamstring strain. Miles McBride was out sick. And three minutes into the Knicks’ eventual loss to the Magic on Saturday, Landry Shamet appeared to re-dislocate the same shoulder he injured in the preseason, sprinting off the court in visible pain after absorbing the full force of an illegal Wendell Carter Jr. screen.
In an instant, the veteran depth behind New York’s stars disappeared. What looked like a slow-burn development season for Diawara became a live-fire assignment.
And in Brown’s system, Diawara possesses something the Knicks don’t have much of without Anunoby and Shamet: real two-way length. At 6-9 with a 7-4 wingspan and a 9-2 standing reach, he’s one of the few players on the roster who can credibly guard three or four positions and still contest shots at the rim.
“For a young guy, he’s got a good feel. On both ends of the floor. He’s long. He’s a pretty good athlete,” Brown said pregame. “And there are a lot of things that he does well, not necessarily great. But just pretty good all-around basketball player. And after he gets some time under his belt, and he turns that feel into live game action, the sky’s the limit how good he could be.”
There were rookie moments, of course. Diawara missed all three of his three-point attempts — each one rushed, each one betraying the adrenaline of a 51st-overall pick suddenly asked to contribute on a team with postseason expectations. He also turned the ball over three times, including once immediately following an impressive steal from Magic star Desmond Bane.
But the defensive flashes were real. Diawara moved, covered ground and contested both at the rim and on jump shooters. That kind of defensive feel can buy him the time he needs for the jump shot to catch up.
“Just coming out there making an impact on defense,” Mikal Bridges said after the game. “The shots will fall. It’ll come. I think he’s sped up a little bit. But he’s a young guy, a rookie that’s coming to play on a pretty good team, so it’s gonna take time with that, but I think he’s been doing good.”
Diawara understands the assignment. In Brown’s pace-and-space offense, shooting isn’t optional — especially for wings. And if he wants more minutes, he knows exactly where the work needs to be done.
“I feel like right now I’m working more on my three-point shot. I want to be way more consistent,” he told The News. “It’s not more so about the amount of shots, but the quality of my arm, the arc and all that.”
The rookie is surrounded by teammates who know his path. Towns was the No. 1 pick who walked into responsibility. Brunson was a second-rounder who earned trust the hard way. McBride’s opportunity came with Immanuel Quickley’s trade to Toronto. And Mitchell Robinson was another raw second-rounder whose gifts demanded playing time.
Diawara has the same chance, even if the circumstances are far different. He knows he’s on a contending team. He knows the leash is shorter. He knows every minute matters.
“I’m trying to improve my game every day,” he told The News. “I’ve got some good guys here trying to help me with what to do here. I’m a rookie, you know? This is my first year here. So I’m just trying to get the most experience and learn from everybody.”
His teammates see the preparation. They see the steadiness. They see the pressure, too.
“He’s done a great job coming in and trying to impact winning. So shoutout to Mo,” Towns said. “It’s tough when you’re first time in the NBA, and you’re a rookie, and you’re a rookie on the New York Knicks, obviously. So it’s tough. A lot of pressure, and I think he’s done a great job of going in there and trying to do his best to help us win.”
So does his coach. Brown knows reps are the only true path to get his rookie up to speed. The reps are available now for a team shorthanded on the wings.
“I just got to find ways to get him on the floor. And if I can’t do it here, I got to get him down to the G-League so he can play,” Brown said. “A guy like Mo just needs to play.”
