Add The New York Post on Google The Knicks told us how they felt about Mohamed Diawara by locking him up to an extension before the restricted free agent could test the open market.
Leon Rose & Co. are obviously very high on the 6-foot-9 wing, after a better-than-expected rookie year in which the 51st overall pick in the 2025 draft appeared in 69 games and made seven starts.
The front office and Diawara agreed to a multiyear deal worth over $10 million, according to The Post’s Stefan Bondy.
It is a hefty raise after Diawara earned $1.27 million last season, the lowest on the team.
Next up for Diawara is summer league in Las Vegas, beginning next Friday.
He is the main attraction on a roster that also includes second-round pick (47th overall) Tyler Nickel out of Vanderbilt and 2024 first-round pick Pacôme Dadiet.
The best thing that can be said about a non-rookie in summer league is that he doesn’t belong there.
The Knicks would obviously like that to be the case with Diawara.
This is an opportunity for him to prove himself after falling out of coach Mike Brown’s playoff rotation.
The Frenchman had a strong first season, averaging 3.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and shooting 36.9 percent from 3-point range in 9.2 minutes.
He was projected as a potential elite defender due to his impressive length (7-foot-4 wingspan) and athleticism.
Diawara enjoyed a breakout performance in a Dec. 29 win against the Pelicans in which he made four 3-pointers and scored 18 points, and broke into the regular-season rotation in December.
“Mo is not afraid,” Brown said then. “He’s the most confident young man I’ve been around. He’s got a chance to be really good.”
The Post takes a look at other things to watch for the Knicks summer league team:
The clock could be ticking on the 6-foot-9 Dadiet.
In two years, Dadiet has played in only 47 games as a Knick.
Over the next few weeks he has a chance to impress.
The better he performs, the better for the Knicks.
Dadiet could be a trade chip, with the team looking to avoid the second apron, and with roughly $6.5 million to spare.
Dadiet doesn’t turn 21 until July 27, is relatively inexpensive and could interest another franchise.
Moving him would free Rose up to add another center of significance to pair with Andre Drummond as Karl-Anthony Towns’ backup after Mitchell Robinson was lost to the Celtics in free agency.
Former St. John’s guard Oziyah Sellers agreed to a summer league deal with the Knicks and should get the chance to potentially earn a training camp invite — either from them or someone else if he performs well in Sin City.
The 6-foot-5 Sellers helped the Johnnies repeat as Big East regular-season and postseason champions and reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999.
He’s a lights-out 3-point shooter — Sellers made 37.8 percent of his attempts from distance in four seasons in college — and defended better than expected in his one season in Queens.
For St. John’s last winter, Sellers averaged 10.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
Nickel is the lone Knicks draft pick on the team — fellow second-rounder Jack Kayil of Germany isn’t on the roster.
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The 6-foot-8 Nickel is a big-time shotmaker who averaged 13.5 points and shot 40 percent from 3 last year on 7.6 attempts for Vanderbilt.
An intriguing name is former Michigan State guard Jaden Akins.
Akins was a G-League All-Star last season while playing for the Motor City Cruise — the Pistons affiliate — averaging 14.7 points, 4.8 assists and shooting just under 36 percent from 3.
He went undrafted in 2025 and signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Pistons.
