Mohamed Diawara, you are a New York Knick.
The Knicks entered the 2025 NBA Draft with no first-round pick and only the 20th pick in the second round (pick No. 50 via Memphis) to improve a championship-contending roster through the draft.
They opted to trade back, sending pick 50 to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for pick No. 51, where they selected Diawara, a 20-year-old 6-foot-9 forward from France who has close ties to rising Knicks sophomore Pacome Dadiet. The Knicks took Dadiet 25th overall in 2024.
Diawara will be with the Knicks at Las Vegas Summer League, according to a league source, thought it is unclear whether he will earn a guaranteed roster spot or compete for a two-way deal. He played in 27 games for club Cholet Basket in French league LBN Elite and averaged 5.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.3 blocks in 19.6 minutes per game last season.
The Clippers took Nevada guard Koby Sanders with the Knicks pick at 50, and the stars didn’t align for Duke guard Tyrese Proctor, a favorite among fans for his positional size as a 40% sharpshooter and playmaker at 6-foot-6. Instead, Proctor landed in Cleveland at pick 49, one slot ahead of the Knicks.
Diawara was part of the French national team that claimed gold in the 2024 FIBA Under-20 EuroBasket in Poland. He was also a member of the team that won bronze in the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup in Spain.
In a media session after an offseason workout with the Portland Trail Blazers, Diawara explained why he felt ready to make the jump and who his NBA comparisons are.
“I feel lie I’m ready. I feel like this is a good year, I had a pretty good year in France with my team, so I feel like that was a good year and I’m not regretting [it]. I spoke to [Atlanta Hawks 2024 No. 1-overall pick] Zaccharie Risacher, Pacome Dadiet, that’s all my friends. So I spoke to them and I feel like this was a good year to come,” he said. “I love Jaden McDaniels and Pascal Siakam. I feel like those are the players I look up to most.”
Diawara also touched on his strengths and weaknesses entering the Wednesday-Thursday NBA Draft.
“Strengths: My shooting. My defensive abilities. The way I can play many positions and my versatility,” he said. “Weaknesses I feel like I’ve gotta be more regular with my three-point shot. That’s the only thing I’m working on and focusing.”
The Knicks were the lone team entering the 2025 NBA Draft without a head coach, and they have reportedly interviewed former Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown, former Memphis Jenkins coach Taylor Jenkins, and Micah Nori, who is currently a top assistant on Chris Finch’s Minnesota Timberwolves staff. They are also expected to interview former San Antonio Spurs assistant and ex-Charlotte Hornets head coach James Borrego. Borrego amassed a 148-183 record with a rebuilding Charlotte roster.
The Knicks also come out of the second round of the draft with several roster spots to fill and key needs to address during the offseason. Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart, Miles McBride, Pacome Dadiet and Tyler Kolek are the only players on guaranteed contracts for the 2025-26 NBA season. The Knicks have team options to exercise on P.J. Tucker and rising sophomore Ariel Hukporti. They also have decisions to make on restricted free agents Kevin McCullar Jr., MarJon Beauchamp and Anton Watson, as well as unrestricted free agents Delon Wright, Landry Shamet, Cameron Payne and Precious Achiuwa.
The Knicks enter the offseason with $199.7M in salaries (including Tucker and Hukporti). They sit $3.8M above the first apron and $8M below the second apron. Towns, Robinson, Bridges and McBride are each extension-eligible, with Bridges up for a four-year, $156.5M extension after his first year at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks come out of the NBA Draft having to address the same needs they entered with: a reliable backup point guard to Brunson, more three-point shooting, and more size off the bench, particularly on the wing and behind Towns, Robinson and Hukporti.
Most importantly, the team still needs to fill the head-coaching vacancy left by Tom Thibodeau, who led the Knicks to their most successful season in 25 years before the organization decided to move in a different direction this offseason.
