Knicks draft intriguing French prospect after Clippers trade

The Knicks moved back one spot in the second round and drafted French forward Mohamed Diawara 51st overall. Here's what you need to know:

The New York Knicks selected French forward Mohamed Diawara with the 51st pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. New York came into Thursday night's second round with the 50th pick. They traded it to the Los Angeles Clippers to move back one spot, receiving draft rights as a sweetener.

The Knicks opted to stay in the 51st slot and select Diawara, a Frenchman who just turned 20 years old in April. He has experience starting for both Cholet Basket and France's gold medal-winning U-20 team. Diawara was one of the few prospects the Knicks were known to have brought in for a workout ahead of the draft.

The 20-year-old forward is 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan. He also reportedly has a standing reach of 9-foot-2.

Diawara most recently played for Cholet Basket in France's Betclic Élite league, formerly known as LNB Pro A. In 27 games last season, he averaged 5.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists. Diawara is raw offensively with the athleticism, tools, and defensive instincts to make him an interesting project in the second round.

The role is inherently matchup dependent, but Diawara often guarded the best offensive player on rival teams. His length and strength have helped him stifle primary offensive options.

The drawbacks to Diawara's game are easily identifiable on the stat sheet. He makes 55% of his free throws and less than 30% of his 3-pointers. When he started on France's U-20 team in EuroBasket, he averaged 7.0 points on 51.4% shooting, enough offensive output in 19 minutes per game to help them win gold.

Diawara is ‘good friends‘ with Pacome Dadiet, the Knicks' first-round pick in 2024, according to Newsday's Steve Popper. The expectation is that Diawara will be a ‘draft and stash' selection. This is a common practice each year among teams that don't have the room on their roster, the financial flexibility, or the need on the court for another rookie.

The Knicks have also draft-and-stashed guard Rokas Jokubaitis, a draft pick of theirs in 2021. Jokubaitis has played for the team at Summer League several times since being selected 34th overall.

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