Knicks' Early Mohamed Diawara Use Raises Questions Big and Small

The very first roster move the Leon Rose and the Knicks made after being crowned NBA champions was to re-sign Mohamed Diawara. It wasn't bringing back the then-longest tenured Knick, Mitchell Robinson. Nor was it to re-sign Jose Alvarado, Landry Shamet, or Jordan Clarkson. And it sure wasn't to extend Karl-Anthony Towns.

Naturally, fans saw that as a sign. A bright red sign that hinted to Diawara being entrusted with taking on a larger role in the 2026-27 season. And it made sense. Despite a limited sample size of 634 minutes spanning just 69 games, Diawara showed signs of real promise during his rookie season.

Two weeks into the new season, though, much of that excitement has seemingly dwindled. The idea of Diawara remains a fascinating one. But the 21 year-old has played one total minute through the Knicks' first five games.

Diawara didn't start getting significant playing time until January last season. But it's strange to see a player that Knicks prioritized so heavily in the offseason get such little burn, and raises some questions regarding both his short- and long-term outlook.

What are Knicks plotting with Mohamed Diawara after early-season no-show?

Taking the narrow view on Diawara, there's the question of when he might get his first real run this season. Judging by Mike Brown's non-use of him, it doesn't appear like that will happen unless there's an injury or the bench play gets so bad that Brown reaches a breaking out.

That's not problematic on its own, as many young players (see Tyler Kolek this year) often demonstrate their worth by plugging a gap that pops up. However, Diawara is someone Brown was happy to use in the second half of last season, so it's hard not to wonder if some trust has been lost between a poor players and Diawara struggling mightily during Summer League and for much of preseason.

This isn't to suggest that Diawara deserves to be playing 25 mpg nightly without any wiggle room. There currently isn't a single Knicks reserve who's earned that with the way they've played. But that's the thing.

The bench hasn't been this dominant force. And neither have the Knicks in general. Many players, and arguably all of them not named Towns, have had a subpar to downright bad start to the season. The fact that head coach Mike Brown hasn't even attempted throwing Diawara in there to change things up thus far may be a harsh hint of Diawara's current role, or lack thereof.

Diawara being non-existent also calls into question what New York was planning for him when initially extending him, and if those designs have changed at all since Diawara's sputtered out of the gate.

Why make re-signing him such a priority if they weren't going to play him at all? Is this a sign that the signing had more to do with keeping him away from others, or retaining a young piece that could be used as trade bait later?

It's possible the Knicks are prioritizing playing McBride and Kolek to dangle them in trades down the line, which could bump Diawara back into the rotation if one of them is moved. Yet, the fact they re-signed Diawara and feel better about their chances without him on the court than on it doesn't reflect especially well on his job security, especially since the team included an out in his deal.

Regardless of what the truth is, it has been an odd start to the season for Diawara and how he's been utilized. He was expected to have at least some sort of role on this team, or even an increase one. Instead, he has none, from the outside looking in.

It's a long season, so the coaching staff and the players will all tell you that anything can happen and that he needs to stay ready. We saw Diawara himself explode onto the scene after not playing just last season. But it's been peculiar seeing the first player that Knicks re-signed get treated as an afterthought just a few months after bringing him back.

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