On Thursday, it was announced that the New York Knicks would not exercise Pacôme Dadiet’s fourth-year option. The option would have paid him $5.37 million in the 2027-28 season.
With the lack of playing time and development, this isn’t a surprising decision. It’s long been rumored that the Knicks want to trade him and would need to add sweeteners, including second-round picks, to get rid of him. His standalone trade value is near zero.
This is a reminder that the Knicks intentionally targeted Dadiet when they selected him with the 25th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Because of apron concerns, they over-drafted him and paid him less than his slot value. Framed that way, this end result was always a risk, if not inevitable.
The Knicks paid Dadiet less than they could have to join them
After taking him in the 2024 NBA Draft, the Knicks gave Dadiet a four-year deal for a little over $13 million. The third and fourth year are always club options for first-round picks, meaning he was guaranteed around $4.7 million over his first two seasons.
For his draft slot, Dadiet could have been paid more. Instead, the Knicks paid him on an under-slot deal at 80 percent of the rookie scale for the 25th pick. Dadiet wasn't projected as a first-round pick, but New York took him knowing they could pay less.
You can say you get what you pay for, and Dadiet hasn’t shown he can play regularly at the NBA level. He's played only 48 regular season games in his career, averaging 1.6 points and 1.0 rebounds. He has shot just 32.9 percent from the field and 25.5 percent from beyond the arc.
It hasn’t mattered whether it’s in summer league, preseason, the G League, or FIBA qualifiers for the Ivory Coast. Dadiet has never looked like a future rotational piece for the Knicks.
The Knicks could still bring Dadiet back, although that's unlikely
Technically, this doesn’t guarantee Dadiet’s time in New York will end after the season. (He could also be traded before the trade deadline.) They could still re-sign him over the offseason, so long as his salary doesn't exceed the value of his $5.4 million team option. Given how little he's played, though, it seems unlikely the Knicks would offer him another contract.
Even though he turned 21 just over three months ago, it's hard to see anyone adding him to a standard deal next offseason. Instead, he could be in line for a training camp deal.
In the end, New York are the reigning NBA champions. Even if the Knicks seemingly wasted a first-round pick in 2024, it didn’t keep them from reaching their ultimate goal. Eventually, though, they will need to find younger players on somewhat inexpensive deals that they can count on. Dadiet won’t be one of those guys.
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