Great analysis, thanks! I looked askance at the mere one-year contract when I first saw it. “Why not at least secure a guy like that for two years so you’d have his Early Bird rights,” I thought. Especially given how relatively inexpensive such a contract would have been, this seemed to me at the time like a strategic mistake. I feel like my impressions have been largely vindicated. I say all that with the caveat that I’m a cap midwit and Leon Rose and company obviously know more than I do. Also, maybe Diawara and his agent didn’t want a multi-year deal? There’s no way to know, though at a glance I’d be surprised if that were the case, as I’d imagine a youngster would want to jump at the opportunity to secure a multi-million dollar guarantee at that age. I’m hoping and praying we don’t lose Diawara, as I feel like the Knicks are on the precipice, and he could potentially be even more of a valuable piece of a championship puzzle next year.
Thanks! As you said, there are probably a variety of factors and no real way of knowing. That said, I doubt that anyone saw *this* type of production coming, along with the degree of polish that he has shown. If they had known, I bet the contractual process would have been different. And at this moment, I still believe that it is more likely that he remains a Knick, but all it takes is for one team to change that!
Content is a bit dense for me but appreciate the deep dive. Seems unrealistic that another team would take a huge multi year financial gamble on a guy as raw as Diarawa but we shall see.
Great analysis, thanks! I looked askance at the mere one-year contract when I first saw it. “Why not at least secure a guy like that for two years so you’d have his Early Bird rights,” I thought. Especially given how relatively inexpensive such a contract would have been, this seemed to me at the time like a strategic mistake. I feel like my impressions have been largely vindicated. I say all that with the caveat that I’m a cap midwit and Leon Rose and company obviously know more than I do. Also, maybe Diawara and his agent didn’t want a multi-year deal? There’s no way to know, though at a glance I’d be surprised if that were the case, as I’d imagine a youngster would want to jump at the opportunity to secure a multi-million dollar guarantee at that age. I’m hoping and praying we don’t lose Diawara, as I feel like the Knicks are on the precipice, and he could potentially be even more of a valuable piece of a championship puzzle next year.
Thanks! As you said, there are probably a variety of factors and no real way of knowing. That said, I doubt that anyone saw *this* type of production coming, along with the degree of polish that he has shown. If they had known, I bet the contractual process would have been different. And at this moment, I still believe that it is more likely that he remains a Knick, but all it takes is for one team to change that!
Content is a bit dense for me but appreciate the deep dive. Seems unrealistic that another team would take a huge multi year financial gamble on a guy as raw as Diarawa but we shall see.
Great read 👏