Knicks · We want some mo' Diawara! (page 3)
newyorknewyork wrote:martin wrote:Second apron for this year is $207m, next year it'll be $223M.These are the current numbers
Age Player 2025-26 2026-27
-------------------------------------------------------------
1 30 KAT 53,142,264 57,078,728
2 28 OG Anunoby 39,568,966 42,500,000
3 29 Jalen Brunson 34,944,001 37,739,521
4 29 Mikal Bridges 24,900,000 33,482,145
5 30 Josh Hart 19,472,240 21,030,019
6 27 Mitch Robinson 12,954,546
7 27 Jose Alvarado 4,500,000 4,500,000
8 25 Miles McBride 4,333,333 3,956,523
9 20 Pacome Dadiet 2,847,600 2,983,680
10 24 Tyler Kolek 2,191,897 2,296,271
11 28 Landry Shamet 2,296,274
12 33 Jordan Clarkson 2,296,274
13 23 Ariel Hukporti 1,955,377 2,700,000
14 20 Mohamed Diawara 1,272,870 2,400,000
15 24 Kevin McCullar 2,200,000
16 26 Trey Jemison
17 24 Dillion Jones
-------------------------------------------------------------
Team Totals 206,675,642 212,866,887
CAP 154,647,000 166,000,000
Luxury Tax 188,500,000 207,300,000
Apron 1 195,947,000 210,330,000
Apron 2 207,824,000 223,081,000Clarkson & Dadiet will probably be allowed to walk & moved for cost savings. Deuce potentially could be traded as well. If MO solidifies himself, then that alleviates the need to draft a PF and transfers the need to G/F on rookie scale contract locked in for 3yrs as Shamet will also be hard to retain. Though they could lose Mitch and need to draft a defensive rim running C, but would allow to keep Deuce &/or Shamet.
Of course if they decide to move KAT then that obviously changes the landscape.
Clarkson isn't even a consideration, he's gone. but even moving Dadiet and Deuce for nothing only saves about $7m, we'd still be well over the 2nd apron.
martin wrote:How about this question: who is the last young player before Mo that got you this excited to see the development unfold?IQ? RJ? Grimes? Deuce? KP? Ron Baker?
To be honest Alonzo Trier. I thought we found a diamond in the rough.
Iq Tj jp and grimes were supposed to be somewhat good and it took a while for deuce to be exciting
Chandler wrote:martin wrote:How about this question: who is the last young player before Mo that got you this excited to see the development unfold?IQ? RJ? Grimes? Deuce? KP? Ron Baker?
To be honest Alonzo Trier. I thought we found a diamond in the rough.
Iq Tj jp and grimes were supposed to be somewhat good and it took a while for deuce to be exciting
hell no, hated his game. He was another CAM thomas. I will pat myself on the back and say I said he would be out of the league within 2 years when he was playing for us. I think it ended up being 1.5 seasons.
CAM will be out of the league soon too.
I think RJ was the last guy I was so excited about, and KP before then.
I was also a Frank believer though...lol
nycericanguy wrote:Philc1 wrote:nycericanguy wrote:martin wrote:KEEPCAMBYNY wrote:BlueKnickers wrote:martin wrote:Javascript is not enabled or there was problem with the URL: https://www.twitter.com/KingBacca22x/status/2018845708120682589?s=20
Click here to view the TweetIt could happen. He's already doing all of those things.
My biggest concern is the cat is out of the bag and anyone can offer him a fat contract.
This is a big problem for us because someone will do it. He's clearly going to be worth a eye-popping deal for a sophomore.
The problem is complex because he is going to be a better player than all of the guys we're concerned with retaining, including Mitch, Deuce, Alvarado and you really cannot afford to let Diawara walk, because this is our Jokic moment where a late pick turns into a monster player.
The conundrum is cap space to sign Diawara may crowd out of the other guys, but if you pre-empt free agency and extend Diawara now you probably piss off the other guys in the process.
But the bottom line is one Diawara will be worth more than all of them put together. That's my projection for him. I think he's going to tear up the league sooner than later.
It's too late to hide him during the playoffs so we might as well use him to go deep. If he has a dominant playoffs and we haven't signed him yet it will create a budget crisis for the FO. But you gotta do what you gotta do. This guy is going to be better than OG, book it, so lock him down ASAP and if it pisses off the other players then so be it.
This is setting up to be another Jeremy Lin situation where another team comes in and offers a poison pill contract. I don’t understand the FO’s thinking on this. It’s the second time they’ve done this (Hartenstein being the first) where they fail to secure the bird rights of a player. Why not setup a 3 year deal with a team option on the 3rd year? Unless his agent demanded this, which is hard to believe since he barely even got drafted at pick 51. At this point I wish Thibs was still the coach, he would have at least had him glued to the bench so the rest of the league wouldn’t know how good he is, and we could keep him under wraps like we did Deuce.
The biggest loser in all of this is going to be KAT. We have too many guys that gotta get paid that his 60+ million a year might have to be moved either this summer or the next. We might also have to say goodbye to Mikal or OG at some point also.
Mo could only be given a 1 or 2 year exception deal.
The Knicks will most likely go over cap next year. Why are we worried about this? It is goink to happen.
These are not problems to worry about. This is a good thing.
This is exactly what you want: Mo being a rotational player and under RFA.
if a team offered him something like 2/10m could we match that?
Yes, Diawara is RFA. But this leads to a much bigger issue.
Knicks are absolutely going over second apron next season. They are right now committed to $205mil and the apron is $207 and the first figure only covers our core starter guys plus Deuce plus Alvarado who has a $4.5 mil player option he will likely pick up.
Mitch and Shamet both have to be resigned in addition to Diawara at a minimum. So you’re probably looking at our team payroll at $230 million next season.
Most of the second apron penalties are not a big deal but there’s 2 that are tough. No MLE and if you are over it 3 out of 5 years your first round pick in 7 years automatically goes to the end of round 1.I would be surprised if this team wasn't prepared to go over the 2nd apron for at least 2 years until KAT's contract runs out. If this is our team and we aren't making major trades, then you have to go for it at full strength. Because we are already probably a tier below championship level. I mean we can win it all, we have a punchers chance, but we aren't in a position where we can lose guys like Mitch, Mo, Deuce...etc.. and still be a title contender.
This is our window to win a championship next 3 years. We have to go over the 2nd apron. One thing that might prevent it is Deuce and Josh’s contracts are both up after next season. Deuce will probably be traded for future picks February 2027 and that’s fine if Kolek keeps developing into a solid rotation guy. I know Hart is beloved but the reality is long term keeping guys like Mitch and KAT is more important and Diawara could be developing into an excellent wing player who could full time replace hart
Another reason why I love Diawara so much is he actually also does the same thing with his insane wing span and athleticism
nycericanguy wrote:newyorknewyork wrote:martin wrote:Second apron for this year is $207m, next year it'll be $223M.These are the current numbers
Age Player 2025-26 2026-27
-------------------------------------------------------------
1 30 KAT 53,142,264 57,078,728
2 28 OG Anunoby 39,568,966 42,500,000
3 29 Jalen Brunson 34,944,001 37,739,521
4 29 Mikal Bridges 24,900,000 33,482,145
5 30 Josh Hart 19,472,240 21,030,019
6 27 Mitch Robinson 12,954,546
7 27 Jose Alvarado 4,500,000 4,500,000
8 25 Miles McBride 4,333,333 3,956,523
9 20 Pacome Dadiet 2,847,600 2,983,680
10 24 Tyler Kolek 2,191,897 2,296,271
11 28 Landry Shamet 2,296,274
12 33 Jordan Clarkson 2,296,274
13 23 Ariel Hukporti 1,955,377 2,700,000
14 20 Mohamed Diawara 1,272,870 2,400,000
15 24 Kevin McCullar 2,200,000
16 26 Trey Jemison
17 24 Dillion Jones
-------------------------------------------------------------
Team Totals 206,675,642 212,866,887
CAP 154,647,000 166,000,000
Luxury Tax 188,500,000 207,300,000
Apron 1 195,947,000 210,330,000
Apron 2 207,824,000 223,081,000Clarkson & Dadiet will probably be allowed to walk & moved for cost savings. Deuce potentially could be traded as well. If MO solidifies himself, then that alleviates the need to draft a PF and transfers the need to G/F on rookie scale contract locked in for 3yrs as Shamet will also be hard to retain. Though they could lose Mitch and need to draft a defensive rim running C, but would allow to keep Deuce &/or Shamet.
Of course if they decide to move KAT then that obviously changes the landscape.
Clarkson isn't even a consideration, he's gone. but even moving Dadiet and Deuce for nothing only saves about $7m, we'd still be well over the 2nd apron.
And we still need to sign Tari Eason in FA using the mid level lol.
May need to work out 4 team trade.
Knicks trade KAT, Deuce, Dadiet & Huk.
Nets trade Sharpe, Zaire, their lotto pick(currently #5), and 2 of the Knicks future picks back.
Rockets S&T Eason($14mil).
Wolves trade Donte, their first(currently #22), and future protected first.
Knicks get Eason, Donte, Wolves pick(#22), reclaim 2 of our future first round picks, & trade exception?
Nets get KAT, Dadiet & Huk
Rockets get Deuce & $10mil trade exception.
Wolves get Nets lotto pick(#5), Sharpe, & Zaire.
Knicks sign IHart for full mid level $14mil.
Knicks resign Mitch $15mil per.
Knicks use Wolves first on C prospect
Knicks trade Own first for future capital
Knicks trade Wizards 2nd for future capital
Knicks bring up Dink to league.
New Knicks
IHart/Mitch/2026 first round pick.
Eason/MO/OG
OG/Hart/MCcullar
Mikal/Donte/Patel
Brunson/GTA5/Kolek
RUN IT!
Philc1 wrote:Knicks have to extend Mitch at some point. He gives us an edge especially against the elite teams in the playoffs with his rebounding and defense. A lot of what he does defensively does not show up in a box score he changes the opposing players shots both mid range and driving to the basket.Another reason why I love Diawara so much is he actually also does the same thing with his insane wing span and athleticism
Josh contract has a team option after next year. If he starts to break down I can see team not offering it but perhaps if his role diminishes so might his salary demands?
I agree with your points and perhaps we have to go into the apron to succeed.
For any owner there need be a strong conviction to do so.
The funny part about all this multi year thinking is the reality will be far different. We never see many things as it comes. Diawa changes the dynmaic if he can be a starter. That means perhaps moving on from Mikal or OG in the future. As much as Dueuce is loose his does miss chunks of the season? He is now 25 and not quite the iron man. Not saying he breaks easy, but he has missed about 25% of the past few seasons and has only pled 35 this year. He might be hard pressed to get in 40.
We all love mitch but......Can he stay on the floor? I'd be curious if an incentive laden contract is available to him that is logical. Play the games and you get the big money. Break your foot you still get 10mm. Mitch is a great compliment to KAT.
nycericanguy wrote:Chandler wrote:martin wrote:How about this question: who is the last young player before Mo that got you this excited to see the development unfold?IQ? RJ? Grimes? Deuce? KP? Ron Baker?
To be honest Alonzo Trier. I thought we found a diamond in the rough.
Iq Tj jp and grimes were supposed to be somewhat good and it took a while for deuce to be exciting
hell no, hated his game. He was another CAM thomas. I will pat myself on the back and say I said he would be out of the league within 2 years when he was playing for us. I think it ended up being 1.5 seasons.
CAM will be out of the league soon too.
I think RJ was the last guy I was so excited about, and KP before then.
I was also a Frank believer though...lol
not disagreeing that he turned out to be a big negative. But when he first started with us he was hitting all kinds of shots at a good clip and we were desperate for talent
Chandler wrote:nycericanguy wrote:Chandler wrote:martin wrote:How about this question: who is the last young player before Mo that got you this excited to see the development unfold?IQ? RJ? Grimes? Deuce? KP? Ron Baker?
To be honest Alonzo Trier. I thought we found a diamond in the rough.
Iq Tj jp and grimes were supposed to be somewhat good and it took a while for deuce to be exciting
hell no, hated his game. He was another CAM thomas. I will pat myself on the back and say I said he would be out of the league within 2 years when he was playing for us. I think it ended up being 1.5 seasons.
CAM will be out of the league soon too.
I think RJ was the last guy I was so excited about, and KP before then.
I was also a Frank believer though...lol
not disagreeing that he turned out to be a big negative. But when he first started with us he was hitting all kinds of shots at a good clip and we were desperate for talent
Trier had his moments his rookie season but so did Knox and we know how that turned out.
Nalod wrote:Philc1 wrote:Knicks have to extend Mitch at some point. He gives us an edge especially against the elite teams in the playoffs with his rebounding and defense. A lot of what he does defensively does not show up in a box score he changes the opposing players shots both mid range and driving to the basket.Another reason why I love Diawara so much is he actually also does the same thing with his insane wing span and athleticism
Josh contract has a team option after next year. If he starts to break down I can see team not offering it but perhaps if his role diminishes so might his salary demands?
I agree with your points and perhaps we have to go into the apron to succeed.
For any owner there need be a strong conviction to do so.The funny part about all this multi year thinking is the reality will be far different. We never see many things as it comes. Diawa changes the dynmaic if he can be a starter. That means perhaps moving on from Mikal or OG in the future. As much as Dueuce is loose his does miss chunks of the season? He is now 25 and not quite the iron man. Not saying he breaks easy, but he has missed about 25% of the past few seasons and has only pled 35 this year. He might be hard pressed to get in 40.
We all love mitch but......Can he stay on the floor? I'd be curious if an incentive laden contract is available to him that is logical. Play the games and you get the big money. Break your foot you still get 10mm. Mitch is a great compliment to KAT.
That's the thing about a player like Diawara. He could enable the Knicks to shed salary and acquire picks or good role players by trading the guys Diawara could replace, like Bridges or OG. That is the nature of roster change in the NBA and to be expected when you uncover a diamond like Mo.
BlueKnickers wrote:Nalod wrote:Philc1 wrote:Knicks have to extend Mitch at some point. He gives us an edge especially against the elite teams in the playoffs with his rebounding and defense. A lot of what he does defensively does not show up in a box score he changes the opposing players shots both mid range and driving to the basket.Another reason why I love Diawara so much is he actually also does the same thing with his insane wing span and athleticism
Josh contract has a team option after next year. If he starts to break down I can see team not offering it but perhaps if his role diminishes so might his salary demands?
I agree with your points and perhaps we have to go into the apron to succeed.
For any owner there need be a strong conviction to do so.The funny part about all this multi year thinking is the reality will be far different. We never see many things as it comes. Diawa changes the dynmaic if he can be a starter. That means perhaps moving on from Mikal or OG in the future. As much as Dueuce is loose his does miss chunks of the season? He is now 25 and not quite the iron man. Not saying he breaks easy, but he has missed about 25% of the past few seasons and has only pled 35 this year. He might be hard pressed to get in 40.
We all love mitch but......Can he stay on the floor? I'd be curious if an incentive laden contract is available to him that is logical. Play the games and you get the big money. Break your foot you still get 10mm. Mitch is a great compliment to KAT.
That's the thing about a player like Diawara. He could enable the Knicks to shed salary and acquire picks or good role players by trading the guys Diawara could replace, like Bridges or OG. That is the nature of roster change in the NBA and to be expected when you uncover a diamond like Mo.
The way I bet it works with Josh is his team option will be picked up but he will be extended at a smaller number. Sort of a win for both sides. He’s here as long as Brunson is. Diawara is a major x-factor going forward. He needs to develop into a future starter based on what we are seeing now. Whether it’s a high level starter or not is the question. I can see a baseline skillset of someone like Camara or Herb Jones being the goal.
because even at 8m per he's going to be a steal as soon as next season. He might even make OG expendable soon.
nycericanguy wrote:IDK how opposing teams don't watch MO and say lets throw 3/24m at him this summer and put the Knicks in a real tough spot.because even at 8m per he's going to be a steal as soon as next season. He might even make OG expendable soon.
Agreed on price. Not on OG. That’s like saying I can’t have two Ferraris.
Bridges (7’0), OG (7’2), Diawara (7’4) is WingSpanStop with corner threes all day. That’s not expendable that’s a backbone. Same reason NOP won’t trade HerbJones. Collect em all.
EwingsGlass wrote:nycericanguy wrote:IDK how opposing teams don't watch MO and say lets throw 3/24m at him this summer and put the Knicks in a real tough spot.because even at 8m per he's going to be a steal as soon as next season. He might even make OG expendable soon.
Agreed on price. Not on OG. That’s like saying I can’t have two Ferraris.
Bridges (7’0), OG (7’2), Diawara (7’4) is WingSpanStop with corner threes all day. That’s not expendable that’s a backbone. Same reason NOP won’t trade HerbJones. Collect em all.
expendable in the sense that we could include him in a trade for someone like Giannis.
nycericanguy wrote:IDK how opposing teams don't watch MO and say lets throw 3/24m at him this summer and put the Knicks in a real tough spot.because even at 8m per he's going to be a steal as soon as next season. He might even make OG expendable soon.
How many late second round picks that have semi popped have you seen been offered that type of deal? Even from their own team?
It's too much of a risk and then you tie up your cap space cause he is a RFA.
Even Houston would say that Lin was probably overpriced at the time and faded. That's the risk.
At that price, you are pegging his talent as ~ #6-10 pick in this past draft.
nycericanguy wrote:IDK how opposing teams don't watch MO and say lets throw 3/24m at him this summer and put the Knicks in a real tough spot.because even at 8m per he's going to be a steal as soon as next season. He might even make OG expendable soon.
He’s RFA. Match the offer. A year from now 3 yrs $24 million will look like an insane bargain.
martin wrote:nycericanguy wrote:IDK how opposing teams don't watch MO and say lets throw 3/24m at him this summer and put the Knicks in a real tough spot.because even at 8m per he's going to be a steal as soon as next season. He might even make OG expendable soon.
How many late second round picks that have semi popped have you seen been offered that type of deal? Even from their own team?
It's too much of a risk and then you tie up your cap space cause he is a RFA.
Even Houston would say that Lin was probably overpriced at the time and faded. That's the risk.
At that price, you are pegging his talent as ~ #6-10 pick in this past draft.
Exactly. Consider that Deuce is making $4.7M. I like Mo and the prospect of what he might become, but he has a long way to go to prove his worth. Also consider that other teams have their own Cap Issues to manage - why would they risk tying up $8M per year on a relative unknown commodity who will have perhaps 1/3 of a season of any type of impactful performance to go on.
martin wrote:nycericanguy wrote:IDK how opposing teams don't watch MO and say lets throw 3/24m at him this summer and put the Knicks in a real tough spot.because even at 8m per he's going to be a steal as soon as next season. He might even make OG expendable soon.
How many late second round picks that have semi popped have you seen been offered that type of deal? Even from their own team?
It's too much of a risk and then you tie up your cap space cause he is a RFA.
Even Houston would say that Lin was probably overpriced at the time and faded. That's the risk.
At that price, you are pegging his talent as ~ #6-10 pick in this past draft.
Diawara has a size athleticism profile that is rare. Yes I know he’s still very young and new but he also has shown an eagerness to play and learn so attitude is certainly not an issue.
As for the Lin comparison: 1) we should have resigned him but couldn’t due to the other team still having rights to him plus he and Melo didn’t get along 2) he still had a good career after leaving NY he just wasn’t a planetary superstar like he was here for 2 months
From a pure basketball perspective keeping Lin was the correct move.
martin wrote:nycericanguy wrote:IDK how opposing teams don't watch MO and say lets throw 3/24m at him this summer and put the Knicks in a real tough spot.because even at 8m per he's going to be a steal as soon as next season. He might even make OG expendable soon.
How many late second round picks that have semi popped have you seen been offered that type of deal? Even from their own team?
It's too much of a risk and then you tie up your cap space cause he is a RFA.
Even Houston would say that Lin was probably overpriced at the time and faded. That's the risk.
At that price, you are pegging his talent as ~ #6-10 pick in this past draft.
Draft picks are underpaid. Teams would offer alot more if they could to draft picks if they were FA's.
MO is the prototypical NBA player teams dream about these days. Long, versatile, defends, high IQ, can shoot the corner 3 and plays hard. If he pans out he's literally a MAX player. So $8m would be a very well calculated risk IMO.
nycericanguy wrote:martin wrote:nycericanguy wrote:IDK how opposing teams don't watch MO and say lets throw 3/24m at him this summer and put the Knicks in a real tough spot.because even at 8m per he's going to be a steal as soon as next season. He might even make OG expendable soon.
How many late second round picks that have semi popped have you seen been offered that type of deal? Even from their own team?
It's too much of a risk and then you tie up your cap space cause he is a RFA.
Even Houston would say that Lin was probably overpriced at the time and faded. That's the risk.
At that price, you are pegging his talent as ~ #6-10 pick in this past draft.
Draft picks are underpaid. Teams would offer alot more if they could to draft picks if they were FA's.
MO is the prototypical NBA player teams dream about these days. Long, versatile, defends, high IQ, can shoot the corner 3 and plays hard. If he pans out he's literally a MAX player. So $8m would be a very well calculated risk IMO.
I remember when the sixers traded Jermaine O’Neal for basically nothing. This guy was telling me “you don’t trade a 20 year old seven footer with talent away”