The New York Knicks and their fans are still riding the high of their 2026 championship victory.
For good reason, too. It’s been 53 years since the Knicks last won an NBA Finals, and the celebration that followed was well deserved.
But now that the confetti has been swept away along the Canyon of Heroes, it’s time to get back down to brass tacks and look ahead to the 2026-27 season.
The Knicks have several questions facing them entering the offseason, and multiple impending free agents who all contributed to their title run in one way or another.
But one free agent, who was once thought to be one of the league’s best-kept secrets, may not be a secret anymore.
Mohamed Diawara Tabbed as ‘Bargain-Bin Free Agent’
New York Knicks forward Mohamed Diawara, who didn’t play much throughout the postseason run, was named by Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale as a “bargain-bin free agent.”
The Knicks did their best to try to keep Diawara under wraps as an impending restricted free agent, but it seems like the exciting youngster’s game has caught the attention of the mainstream.
“Cracking the regular-season rotation of a title contender (and eventual champion) as a newbie selected 51st overall says a lot about the way Diawara comports himself. His defensive versatility can’t be overstated. Nobody will soon forget the night he put Jaylen Brown in hell, but he routinely held his own against burlier combo bigs and twitchy guards,” wrote Favale.
“New York can match mini-mid-level offers for Diawara (and then some). Yet, its presumed entry into the second apron always meant he’d be a flight risk. With team governor James Dolan now saying that crossing the second-apron line would be ‘suicidal,’ Diawara could be good as gone.”
Diawara was one of the most surprising contributors throughout the 2025-26 season, and played much better than you’d expect from a second-round draft pick.
The 20-year-old appeared in 69 games for New York this season, and only averaged 3.6 points per game along with 1.4 rebounds, but don’t let those numbers fool you.
Before the All-Star break, Diawara shot 41% from three-point range and surprised with his competitive motor on defense.
The Knicks should be looking for a way to retain the French native, and they may still be able to.
Could the Knicks Find a Way to Keep Mohamed Diawara?
The New York Knicks face a murky offseason, where they may be saying goodbye to a few key rotation players.
Veteran Landry Shamet, who has played on a minimum contract the last two seasons in New York, is set to cash in after a monster playoff run with the Knicks, where he shot 47.5% from three-point range.
Fadeaway World’s Eddie Batir expects the 29-year-old to ink a three-year, $45 million contract on the open market.
Another victim of the dreaded second-apron could be the longest-tenured Knick, Mitchell Robinson.
The center expects to command a two-year $40 million deal, according to Heavy’s Sean Deveney.
If those two players walk, the Knicks will still have at least some money to play with, and that could be what they need to retain Diawara.
As a restricted free agent, New York reserves the right to match any offer he receives in free agency.
Favale estimated that the Knicks could match any offer around the “mini-mid-level” range, and for fans’ sake, let’s hope they end up finding a way to keep him.
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