The New York Knicks have been wheeling and dealing all week, and after landing Mikal Bridges on Tuesday, several draft night trades concluded with them selecting French guard Pacome Dadiet No. 25 overall. Dadiet, who is still only 18 years old, is a 6-foot-7 ball-handler with upside as a shooter and the tools to evolve into a strong defensive wing. He is going to need to grow into his body with time, and he averaged just 6.6 points per game in France last season, but the Knicks didn’t have minutes available for a rookie anyway. In Dadiet, they’ve landed a long-term project that could eventually become a cheap rotation piece when their roster gets more expensive.
The Knicks opened the night with two picks in the first round at No. 24 and No. 25. When they came up for No. 24, they reportedly traded it down to the Washington Wizards for No. 26 and No. 51 overall. They then proceeded to trade No. 26 to the Oklahoma City Thunder for five second-round picks that will reportedly come between 2025 and 2026. Ultimately, the Knicks turned No. 24 overall into six total second-round picks.
New York made the biggest trade of the offseason so far on Tuesday when it landed Bridges in a blockbuster with the Brooklyn Nets. That deal set the Knicks up to contend for the championship this season, but it also put them in a position in which they badly need young, cheap talent. While Bridges and Jalen Brunson are underpaid for now, both are set to become expensive in the next few years, and with OG Anunoby inking a five-year, $212.5 million extension Wednesday, it has never been more important for New York to develop young players than it is now.
Fortunately, the Knicks have a strong recent track record in the draft. They landed Immanuel Quickley at No. 25 overall in 2020 and then got Deuce McBride at No. 36 in 2021 before trading their first-round picks in 2022 and 2023. That bodes well for Dadiet as he makes the transition to the NBA, even if head coach Tom Thibodeau is unlikely to play him much early on. The Knicks use their starters more than any other team in the NBA, so reserves, especially young ones, rarely see playing time immediately.
But if Dadiet can develop without significant playing time, his cheap rookie contract will come in handy for New York down the line, when Brunson and Bridges get more expensive and retaining depth becomes an issue for New York. The Knicks took a swing on a player with a ton of potential late in the first round, and we won’t know if they’ve connected for years to come.
