Maybe the Knicks should only horde second-round picks, because they can’t seem to miss as the NBA Draft goes into its later hours.
Case in point: The Knicks took Mohamed Diawara 51st overall last June, and it’s already inexplicable a player with his skill set and potential fell to New York, a team in desperate need of his talents in a playoff push.
The Knicks have already established the late-first and second round as their draft day bread and butter: In 2021, the Leon Rose-led front office traded the rights to Jeremiah Robinson-Earl — who is not on an active NBA roster — at pick No. 32 to the Oklahoma City Thunder for the rights to international prospect Rokas Jokubaitis at 34 and Miles McBride at 36. At pick No. 58 in the same draft, the Knicks selected Jericho Sims, who didn’t pan out under Tom Thibodeau but found a second opportunity in Milwaukee. In 2024, the Knicks whiffed on their first-round pick Pacome Dadiet but made up for it selecting Tyler Kolek at 34 and Ariel Hukporti at 56.
In 2025, the Knicks didn’t have a first-round pick. They traded it to Brooklyn as part of the Mikal Bridges deal. But Diawara is playing first-round minutes, and in Sunday’s 25-point victory over the San Antonio Spurs, he shot 13 3s in 14 minutes. The rookie made just four of those attempts, but his willingness to let the three ball fly kept the Spurs honest.
It also kept him on the court.
“I love it. Every time the ball touches his hands, I’m yelling at him ‘shoot it.’ I want that kid to stay aggressive. We all know how raw, talented he is,” said Knicks sharpshooter Landry Shamet. “It’s crazy, he’s what, 19? I’m happy for him to have a game like tonight. That’s a tough job. a lot of people think it’s [easy] — ‘Oh he’s wide open all the time — but it’s weird when you look up and nobody’s guarding you. Teams have to choose what they want to give up. Mo being in that position, I think he handled it great tonight.”
Diawara is averaging just 3.1 points and 1.2 rebounds per game as a rookie. Those are unassuming numbers that won’t garner any consideration in Rookie of the Year or All-Rookie Team honors at the end of the season.
Yet on average, Diawara is playing just 7.5 minutes a night. He has played 15 or more minutes in 11 games this season and is averaging 8.9 points on 43% shooting from three-point range with a plus-minus of plus-64 in those games on the year.
“First thing I would say is Mo is not afraid. I’ve said this to you guys before, for a young guy, I’ve thrown him out there in games — to start — on national TV, and he didn’t bat an eye. And he might start three games in a row, then he might not play the fourth game, he doesn’t bat an eye. He is the most confident young man I’ve been around,” said head coach Mike Brown. “And he’s got a chance to be not good, but really good. And he’s working extremely hard on his shooting, like you saw tonight.
“But confidence wise, you don’t have to worry about that.”
The second-round track history is a net-positive for a team strapped for first-round draft assets. The Knicks may not have access to their own firsts, but they are wealthy in seconds. Their most recent is enjoying the opportunity of a lifetime for a championship contender.
“Mo, really talented man and understanding the game at a young age,” said Bridges. “Just keep shooting it. I think he even knew, just getting his feet set, I don’t think he’s probably been guarded when no one’s guarding him probably in a long time. So just getting adjusted to that and that situation just having his feet ready, but he doesn’t lack confidence at all.”
