Knicks' Hidden Mohamed Diawara Agenda Going Just as Hoped

The Knicks may have kept Mohamed Diawara a secret despite winning the Finals. | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Mike Brown made the Knicks' bench a much more prevalent part of the team's playoff run this postseason, and it worked out to the team's advantage. Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado all provided a spark in times of need, which played a role in the team capturing the title.

However, there were still a few seldom-used reserves despite the bench emphasis, with rookie Mohamed Diawara chief among them. While this did frustrate those who thought Diawara could help on the big stage, this was likely by design, and New York could now reap offseason rewards from it.

Knicks helped themselves re-sign Mohamed Diawara with his quiet playoffs

Ahead of the postseason, there were rumblings that the Knicks could try to keep Diawara under wraps in the playoffs. This is because the rookie's immediately headed for restricted free agency after the Finals, where another franchise could be intrigued enough by his flashes to try and poach him away.

Actively deciding to not play someone who could help is a mistake no matter the circumstances. Surely Brown would've put Diawara on the floor if he needed to, so this is more of a conspiracy theory than any officially unveiled plan.

But New York, thanks to careful roster planning, also had no shortage of veteran depth to turn to whenever second-unit minutes were required. As a result, this allowed the team to keep Diawara as a bystander. He only suited up six of the Knicks' 19 playoff games, and all of his playing time was in contests that were already out of hand.

It can be argued one way or another if New York really did try to prevent the rook from seeing the floor this postseason. But there's no denying they certainly benefit from how things played out.

By loading up on bench contributors, Brown could go several veterans deep before ever considering Diawara. The chances were high that one of them would be able to deliver, and this repeatedly proved to be the case every night. That took away a lot of the risk of keeping Diawara on the bench, since they ultimately got the production they craved, even if it wasn't from the same name each contest.

In turn, this kept Diawara from being needed, and thus having opportunities to strut his stuff for the entire league on a bigger stage. The NBA has seen under-the-radar (and pending free agents) guys like Bruce Brown excel in the playoffs, and then cash in when the offseason rolls around. Diawara had that potential for New York if he was given a window and seized it.

One BIG reason why the #Knicks Offense might be even more potent next season.

Adding another 6’9 Point-Wing is an exciting proposition…

Mohamed.
Diawara.
pic.twitter.com/BtsWcP8y4i

— Angry Mike (@AngryMike24) June 19, 2026

Instead, all Diawara had to make do with was garbage time, which is significantly less impressive. The youngster even struggled, at times, in these minutes as well, like a horrid Game 4 against the Hawks. This only helps keep his stocks in check, or even slightly hurts them, rather than setting him up as a gem of this free-agent class.

This is significant with the Knicks' offseason spending looking limited. James Dolan is putting up clear resistance to entering the second apron, so that could mean letting several internal free agents walk.

However, Diawara does not appear like he'd break the bank to keep. He'll need not just plenty of suitors, but big offers as well to fall into that category. While carving out a slight role in the rotation has put him on radars, he still only finished with 3.6 ppg this season and is now coming off of a major playoff dud.

That sets up New York to re-sign him for something palatable, like $4 million or under over multiple years. That could be half of what Shamet sees annually, killing two birds with one stone by filling a hole in the rotation and doing so with a contract that helps them stay under the second apron.

Given Diawara's promise, he could've been the type of restricted free agent who's thrown a significant offer to put pressure on his current team. Instead, the path seems clear for the Knicks to get him back without much cost, which would be huge for their 2026-27 salary and rotation.