Mohamed Diawara Now Has a Clear Deadline to Fully Win Knicks Over

This week, the Knicks officially announced several deals that were previously reported. Among them was 2025-26 rookie Mohamed Diawara, who is back on a four-year agreement worth $11.2 million.

Given his promise and youth, keeping Diawara on a contract that's essentially a minimum is a huge feat. But the recently revealed terms of the deal also show New York is keeping the worst-case scenario in mind.

Mohamed Diawara's Knicks future has a new potential cut-off line

According to The Athletic's Fred Katz, only the first two years of Diawara's four-year contract are guaranteed. That opens the door for the Knicks to end this experiment and suffer zero cap hit as soon as the 2028-29 season. Then again, they will have the option to split freely in 2029-30.

Mohamed Diawara's four-year, $11.2 million contract with the Knicks is guaranteed only for the first two seasons, league source tells @TheAthletic. Starts at $2.6 million salary in 2026-27.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) July 6, 2026

Now, there's reason to believe that outcome is far-fetched. Diawara already earned some trust despite being a rookie this past campaign, and he showcased intriguing 3-and-D potential and ball-handling capabilities.

Heading into his second year and beyond, Diawara could blossom into a Miles McBride-esque player who takes on a big role while being a serious value money-wise. This could not only help extend New York's title window or even shake up its starting core, but also create lucrative trade opportunities.

However, it's also entirely possible Diawara becomes just the latest young player who's more exciting in theory than reality. A 69-game sample averaging 9.2 minutes is nothing to read too deeply into. There's also a difference between showing out against deep reserves and doing it against legitimate NBA role players or starters.

Diawara showcased a few warts in the playoffs, to the point that he struggled to impress in garbage time (-12 during the postseason) and appeared in just one of nine contests following the second round. Though it's not a surprise for a late-picked rookie to look like a fish out of water in the playoffs, it certainly didn't raise any confidence in Diawara being truly legit.

The Knicks are clearly not rolling out the red carpet for Diawara, considering they just brought back Landry Shamet (on a much more expensive deal) and there's buzz of a Jordan Clarkson return as well. So Diawara may end up in a similar place as he was as a rookie, looking on from the end of the bench while the vets get most of the run.

New York is even having him play in Summer League on the heels of his extension, which is a signal that there are still questions to be answered before the team fully buys in.

As a result, this puts real pressure on his young shoulders. He may have more limited in-season opportunities to shine than other players around his age, given the roster circumstances and title demands. But he also will want to show why he's worth giving more minutes throughout this entire contract.

That's certainly not a dream scenario for any young NBA player, but it also comes with the territory of landing with a title threat like New York. The potential rewards are also even greater if he succeeds in this market, so the challenge isn't without a silver lining.

But if his flashes don't turn into anything of substance when games matter most, the Knicks have an easy out they'd be right to capitalize on, especially with a cap on spending put on them by James Dolan.

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