Mohamed Diawara

Diawara is a developmental swing forward — a long, 6-foot-9 Frenchman out of Cholet Basket whom the Clippers selected 51st in the 2025 draft before trading his rights to New York. The revealing part of his rookie season isn't the modest box score (3.6 points in 9.2 minutes) but the runway: a contending Knicks team handed a raw second-rounder 69 appearances, the kind of trust usually reserved for a player whose defensive length, motor and feel outrun his current offense. He was a rookie on New York's 2026 championship roster, and the front office doubled down in the summer with a multi-year deal — a clear signal they see a project worth nurturing rather than a fringe body. He is far from a rotation fixture, but the frame, mobility and youth are exactly the raw materials teams stay patient with.