Mohamed Diawara's Knicks Pressure Just Turned Up a Notch

Landry Shamet wasn’t a big deal when the New York Knicks first signed him, a few weeks before training camp in 2024. It wasn't big news when he dislocated his right shoulder a month later, and again a year after that.

Yet by last season’s end, he’d played a big part in the Knicks’ trophy-hoisting run. That’s how fast things can happen in the NBA.

It’s why Mo Diawara needs to hit the ground running this season.

As Jalen Brunson talked about on Media Day, the Knicks have to be ready to go the moment the first tip-off goes up. Their first 10 games are a slugfest, and there won’t be any nights off, not when they’re king of the mountain.

“The first couple of weeks of the season are going to show us who we are,” Jalen Brunson.
— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) September 28, 2026

The Knicks didn’t make a seismic move this offseason like the Sixers, Celtics, Raptors and Heat all did. Any player improvement will be almost entirely sourced from within, and no other player tantalizes the imagination quite like Diawara.

Mohamed Diawara could totally change Knicks' outlook if he impresses

Entropy suggests he’ll be needed sooner than later. Diawara primarily backs up OG Anunoby and Josh Hart. In his five full seasons with Toronto, Anunoby never played 2,100 minutes. He has three of his four years in New York, while playing twice as many postseason minutes as a Knick than as a Raptor.

Last year was a relative breeze by Hart’s standards: after finishing 24th, 11th and second in minutes played from 2023-25, he was only 80th last year. But add up Hart’s postseason minutes in New York and it’s what he normally plays in a full regular season.

Diawara’s significance isn’t solely as insurance for the Knicks' current wings. They have little to offer teams in trade as far as draft capital and no cap space to work with. Unless Tyler Kolek or Pacome Dadiet take an unexpected third-year leap, Diawara is the Knicks’ best hope for meaningful player development. A year from now he could have made a case for a rotation spot, been traded or lost much of his current trade value. The range is as long as his 7-foot-4 wingspan.

That doesn’t mean he has an open runway to find his wings. Diawara and Miles McBride are the Knicks’ most appealing trade candidates; if they get off to a slow start or suffer an injury to Karl-Anthony Towns or Andre Drummond, they’re more likely to forget about Diawara’s upside in favor of a journeyman center who offers none. Diawara could play the best ball of his life and still get traded. That's a certain kind of pressure.

Not to mention all the veteran wings New York’s brought in to compete for a roster spot. Bruce Brown helped a team win a title only three years ago. Ochai Agbaji was a recent lottery pick. If the Knicks are all-in on winning again this year, swapping Diawara in a trade for a seamless fit like Jericho Sims and then signing one of the camp invites might be the better way to go.

We still don’t know what’s next for Diawara. But between his training camp competitors, his trade value and the Knicks wanting to get off to a strong start, wherever he is, whatever the role, things happen fast. The best thing he can do for himself and the Knicks is be the best version of himself as quickly and as often as he can.

Get Knicks On SI straight to your inbox: sign up for our free newsletter here.

Add us as a preferred source on Google