Landry Shamet has officially signed with the New York Knicks. And if the tealeaves we’re reading are any indication, rookie Mohamed Diawara is about to join him.
ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported the news of Shamet’s return, which began to feel inevitable a while ago, even with the team apparently semi-smitten by the idea of adding Ben Simmons. The Knicks can only offer the veteran’s minimum, so that’s what the 28-year-old sharpshooter will receive. They must now, at some point, sign a 14th player to hit the league’s minimum, and fill out the roster.
All signs point to that 14th player being the No. 51 pick in June’s NBA draft.
The Knicks have to sign a rookie
Shamet will count for around $2.3 million on the Knicks’ cap sheet. This leaves them with about $1.4 million to spend on their 14th roster spot.
That is not enough to offer a minimum contract to anyone with more than one year’s experience. Not even Kevin McCullar Jr. fits into that money. Though he was on a two-way contract last season, his deal counts as a full year’s worth of NBA experience.
Barring a trade that increases wiggle room beneath the second apron, New York will have to fill its 14th spot with a minimum rookie deal. Newbies with zero experience can be put on the books for a little under $1.3 million, which juuuust fits into the team’s remaining runway under the second apron.
The Knicks could technically go in a couple of different directions. They have a well-documented affinity for the undrafted Dink Pate, and still have the draft rights to James Nnaji, the No. 31 overall pick in 2023.
Diawara makes the most sense anyway.
Mohamed Diawara is the obvious choice for New York
The 6’9” 20-year-old has drawn comparisons to OG Anunoby thanks to his positional malleability at the defensive end. He will need to get stronger, at minimum, to consistently guard against explosive and physical wings or bigs. But he already showed a knack for hanging with quicker ball-handlers on the perimeter during his Las Vegas Summer League stint.
Questions abound about his offensive capabilities. The jumper is virtually nonexistent, an obvious red flag. But he has reel feel and control when operating on the ball, along with the bandwidth to score in transition, and when cutting away from the rock. Head coach Mike Brown, of all people, can make good use of his limited skill set in lineups with Karl-Anthony Towns at the 5.
Rolling with Diawara may also just be the default choice. The Knicks need wings. Pacome Dadiet is the only player who fits that bill after Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart, and New York doesn’t appear ready to give him a role.
Diawara isn’t necessarily more game-ready, but when your break-in-case-of-emergency wings traffic exclusively in unproven kiddos, it makes sense to have more than one at your disposal.