The New York Knicks will reportedly strengthen their French connection.
Per Shams Charania of ESPN, the reigning NBA champions are already back at work, as they’re set to sign rookie sensation Mohamed Diawara to a multi-year deal. Diawara was set to be a restricted free agent but not only set to stay on an eight-figure salary.
The 21-year-old Paris native came to New York as the 51st pick of the last draft, measuring at 6-foot-9 and 225 libs.. He gained significant attention for his 7-foot-4 wingspan and showed little hesitation to shoot from anywhere on the floor
Diawara appeared in 69 games (7 starts) in his metropolitan debut, averaging 3.6 points and 1.4 rebounds. While Diawara was not featured in the playoff rotation, he gained a solid following among Knick fans for some solid outings amidst injuries in the post.
Diawara’s finest performance of the season came on Dec. 29 in New Orleans, which saw him put up 18 points in a narrow win over the Pelicans. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from deep in that win, one of three games where he sank at least four triples.
“In training camp, everybody was like, ‘he’s going be good.’ And I think with him, it was just more about getting more comfortable, more experience, more minutes, those kinds of things,” Josh Hart said of Diawara in February after a 10-point performance in a win over Boston was complemented by strong defensive work (h/t Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News). “He’s extremely talented, defensively he can be all over the place, but offensively he’s knocking down shots. He’s really good especially when they guard him with bigs. He can knock down shots but also play in the pocket and play make.”
Diawara is thus the headliner of the Knicks’ first major move of the offseason. In other metropolitan free agency news, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported that Jose Alvarado agreed to move the decision deadline for his $4.5 million player option from Monday to Friday, affording the Knicks to conduct their draft in relative peace.
