Red flags crop up any time a second-year NBA player struggles so thoroughly to distinguish themselves at the Las Vegas Summer League. That may not bode well for Mohamed Diawara. He churned out a pair of rough performances in Sin City, and looked uninspiring enough for the New York Knicks to worry.
News flash: They shouldn’t worry. Not because summer league doesn’t matter. It can. It does.
But context is king. And in the case of Diawara’s summer-league warts, it is actually a dynasty.
Never mind the left finger injury that prevented him from appearing in New York’s final three summer-league tilts. The roster construction alone is enough to write off his performance in the Neon Capital of the World as nothing more than bad luck—if not terrible timing.
The Knicks can chalk up Diawara’s issues to roster construction
Across nearly 50 minutes of total action, the sophomore combo wing scored just seven points on 1-of-14 shooting, including a 1-of-10 clip from three. All seven of these points, mind you, came during his second and final Vegas game. He went scoreless, on five field-goal attempts, through 23-plus minutes in his summer-league opener against the San Antonio Spurs.
This isn’t the kind of two-game portfolio you typically just forget. It might be for other second-round prospects drafted in the 50s.
But Diawara tantalized last season with defensive versatility, and a more fluid, polished offensive package than many expected. He even spent a huge portion of the schedule as a regular in the rotation. Fresh off signing a four-year deal to stay with the Knicks, the standard for Diawara is higher than your average 51st-overall pick.
At the same time, when looking at the talent around him, perhaps it shouldn’t have been. Not only was Diawara suiting up alongside a bunch of dudes with whom he has no on-court history, but the Knicks didn’t field a single, solitary floor general.
Primary ball-handling and playmaking responsibilities went to Jack Kayil, Dillon Jones, and Pacome Dadiet. Jaden Atkins didn’t assume a larger role until after Diawara was shut down. Not that turning to him earlier would have mattered. None of these names are engines-of-the-offense material.
This changes the outlook on the entire roster. But it is especially critical for Diawara. Over 80 percent of his made baskets came off assists as a rookie. His offensive style is better suited to play finishing as a spot-up shooter, and catch-and-go driver in space. Those scoring avenues were not readily available to him in Vegas.
New York didn’t actually learn anything about Diawara
Throw in his left finger injury, along with having just wrapped up a championship run and celebration, and Diawara’s summer-league flop shouldn’t be tattooed to memory.
Sure, it would have been nice to see more physicality on his drives. Or to leave Las Vegas with the utmost conviction in his on-ball chops. But failing to play above the scope of your skill set isn’t a failure at all.
In the end, only one thing can truly be taken away from Diawara’s two summer-league showdowns: that as of now, at the age of 21, he needs more playmaking around him to make a positive offensive impact.
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