With the 25th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks selected French prospect Pacome Dadiet.
Dadiet is only 19 years old and was one of the youngest players in the 2024 draft class. New York wants to protect and develop their prized young prospect, but he can make an immediate impact on the roster right now, especially without Jalen Brunson.
There are opportunities for him to play, but Tom Thibodeau must disconnect himself from his gauntlet of a rotation and change the team’s strategy.
Pacome Dadiet should play over Landry Shamet
Pacome Dadiet is last among 2024 first-round picks in total minutes played this year with 98 (Nikola Topic and DaRon Holmes were omitted from this due to not appearing in a single game).
Dadiet needs to get in the rotation somehow, but at the minimum, Thibs does not give him enough minutes during blowouts and garbage time to see what he can do.
In the G League, Dadiet is averaging 13.3 points per game on 58.5% true shooting, along with 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. However, he is not shooting the three-ball well, as he only connects on 28.1% of his attempts.
But Landry Shamet, the guy supposedly above Dadiet in the rotation, is not having a good three-point shooting year either. He is hitting 32.9% on just 2.1 attempts per game.
If Shamet and Dadiet are not shooting well, then Thibs might be deducting that Shamet’s defense is better than Dadiet’s. Shamet is a 6-foot-4 guard, not a forward. The Knicks use him like he is irreplaceable on defense, while Dadiet is more imposing on the defensive end with his length.
If the Knicks wanted defense, then Delon Wright is available off the bench. There is no point in playing a smaller guard over Dadiet if Shamet cannot shoot.
Dadiet should play over Precious Achiuwa, Too
Tom Thibodeau’s rotations have not been good since Jalen Brunson’s ankle injury.
Precious Achiuwa is not a floor spacer, Josh Hart is not confident in his shot, and Mitchell Robinson is not shooting. Why is Thibs playing Achiuwa, Hart, or Robinson in the same lineups when you have a 6-foot-8 forward on the bench capable of spacing the floor? In the era of spacing and three-pointers, utilizing two non-shooters in one lineup makes no sense.
Stop playing Achiuwa and play Dadiet instead if Robinson or Hart is in the game. Achiuwa is a good defender and protects the rim well, but he has limited contributions on offense. Since Feb. 1, he has an individual plus-minus of -101.
Reasoning behind Dadiet’s lack of playing time
There were many reports when Dadiet was drafted that he would end up as a “stash-and-draft” guy, meaning Dadiet was to consider staying and playing with ULM (a German team in the EuroCup league) for another year or two.
Dadiet ended up coming to the Knicks, but since he is only 19 years old, he will need ample time to develop. It would still be encouraging to see Dadiet get some run, especially on a team lacking forward depth.
Fans saw Thibs reluctant to play Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin, and Miles McBride early in their careers. Quickley gained Thibs’ trust quickly (pun intended) and was a critical part of the Knicks bench for many seasons. McBride took the hard road through the G League and started to appear in more games in his second season. Meanwhile, Toppin never really got a chance in New York, mostly because of his defense and Julius Randle’s stardom.
Thibs does not trust his rookies or young players to play winning basketball. Unfortunately, this is the norm on a Tom Thibodeau team, and we should learn to accept it.
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