The Knicks are hoping 2025 second-round pick Mohamed Diawara will continue to improve in his second season after a solid rookie campaign in which he received rotation minutes at times, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post.

At 6’9″ with a 7’4″ wingspan, Diawara has excellent size for a forward. Teammate OG Anunoby believes the 21-year-old has “endless upside” and is a “really versatile player.” Head coach Mike Brown has seen some growth from Diawara, but he wants him to stay hungry.

“Last year, you could see he was a little jittery when he was out there,” Brown said Saturday, “because he didn’t quite know what to do, and he knew when he did it, he just had to go hard. So a lot of times, he would just play at one speed. There’s a comfort level now, so his cadence is better, especially offensively.

“His ability to communicate on the floor is at a little bit of a higher level, because he has a better feel not just offensively, but defensively — not just what he should do, but what he should be telling his teammates to do, especially if he’s on the backside or bottom side of the defense, because he sees everything in front of him.

“He’s one of those players that needs to take a step forward.”

Diawara re-signed with the Knicks on a four-year, $11.2MM contract as a restricted free agent this offseason.

“It was great. That was the goal. Now we’re back to work,” said Diawara, who added that he’s fully recovered from the finger injury he suffered at Summer League (Twitter links via James L. Edwards III of The Athletic).

Here’s more on the Knicks:

How many minutes will smaller guards like Miles McBride and Jose Alvarado receive this season? Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News explores that question, noting that the team had strong net ratings when one of those two guards was paired with Jalen Brunson in both the regular season and the playoffs. They also played well together in a small sample size. “They may be small with us looking at them, but they bring a level of toughness, so their drop-off isn’t as huge as most people think based on their height,” Brown said.
Alvarado said he prioritized returning to his hometown team this offseason and is happy a deal came together, Winfield writes. “It’s big. Just gave that comfort, just that comfort that you stay here and just keep going forward and now I’m just focused on the season,” said Alvarado, who signed a three-year, $14.4MM deal with the Knicks.
The Knicks’ preseason opener is on Monday against Philadelphia. Brown says the starters will play, “but not much,” according to Schwartz. Instead, the team is focused on evaluating its young players and the training camp invitees battling for a roster spot. “Any time you have new guys, because we have new guys on this team that we’re trying to mix in with guys that have been here, you’re gonna make some mistakes,” Brown said after practice Saturday. “I’m 100 percent OK with that. The little things I’m looking for are, when someone makes a mistake, how quickly do they try to make up for the mistake? I’m huge on next-play speed. There’s gonna be a lot of mistakes, but are guys gonna drop their heads or look confused or hesitate?“