Mohamed Diawara was one of the more surprising Knicks revelations during the first half of the season.
But in the second half, that might change a bit.
His role could be diminished with the addition of Jeremy Sochan, whom the Knicks signed during the All-Star break after he was waived by the Spurs.
“I’m just gonna continue what I was doing,” Diawara told The Post before the Knicks lost to the Pistons, 126-111, on Thursday at the Garden. “Keep working and being ready for each opportunity that I’m gonna get. I’m not worried about that. I know the coaching staff and the team is gonna do whatever is good for the team, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Diawara got the early workload Thursday, finishing with nine minutes.
But Sochan got some run at the end of the third quarter and the fourth quarter and finished with 10 minutes, though some of that came in garbage time.
On Wednesday, coach Mike Brown suggested that he needs to have Sochan in the rotation to evaluate him.
His minutes will need to come from somewhere and the most likely candidate is Diawara, who plays a similar role.
“I’ll play young guys, and I have played young guys in front of vets before,” Brown said. “But I’m going to give Jeremy an opportunity.
“[Sochan] knows the league. The league knows him. He knows the officials and vice versa. So he’s going to get an opportunity. But at the end of the day, I’m going to play who I think is best for us. Right now, Jeremy is new. He hasn’t played for us. So I have to see rather quickly what we have in him before going to the playoffs.”
Diawara, whom the Knicks drafted with the No. 51 pick, has had a larger role than most expected for his rookie season.
It wasn’t even a given over the summer that he would be on the roster, but he carved out playing time as the season progressed.
Some of that was due to Guerschon Yabusele’s struggles.
Diawara was more effective as a defender at the four spot — and at times as a small-ball five — and as a scorer. That’s a role that, on paper, suits Sochan as well.
“I’m a rookie, rookie year, first year in the league,” Diawara said. “The league, anything can happen, so I’m just gonna take what I have to take and not take anything for granted and just keep working until I’m gonna be that player [I want to be].”
Entering Thursday, Diawara was averaging 2.7 points per game, but notably shooting 41.3 percent from 3-point range.
Given his size and wingspan, his defense was supposed to be well ahead of his offense coming out of the draft.
He scored in double digits four times in the first half of the year, showing that his offensive game is a bit more polished than advertised.
“I think my 3-point shot,” Diawara said of where he’s most grown this year. “I think my 3-point shot became a little bit more consistent. I think that’s the biggest thing, and maybe my defense too, a little bit.”
How much he can continue to grow his game now becomes a question mark, though.
