What's Wrong with Mo Diawara?? + Jack Kayil Debut Breakdown
July 13, 2026
AI Summary
5 min read"Mo Diawara is playing on a thousand times gravity right now." That's how the Locked On Knicks hosts frame the Knicks' Summer League experience for their second-year wing. The team failed to crack 50 points in a game, and Diawara—signed to a four-year, $10 million deal this offseason—has looked lost. But the hosts argue that the ugly box scores are masking something useful: a deliberate stress test designed to force Diawara to develop skills he would never need in a normal NBA offense.
The Mo Diawara Concern Meter (It's a 1 out of 10)
The hosts open with a mock panic-meter segment, then immediately defuse it. Diawara's struggles are real—he's been stripped on drives, rushed finishes, and missed open looks—but the context matters enormously. The Knicks' Summer League roster is a "torture chamber" of non-shooters and non-creators. There is no floor spacer, no pick-and-roll initiator, no one to collapse a defense and kick. Diawara's game is built on playing off of stars: attacking closeouts, catching in rhythm, using momentum to get downhill. In Summer League, he is being asked to create from scratch against ball pressure, something he will almost never do in an NBA game.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Podcast Intro & Hosts** - Gavin Shaw and XJ open the show, covering the summer league game and today's topics: Mo Diawara's struggles, Jack Kayil's debut, and mailbag questions.
- 2 (02:34) **Mo Diawara Panic Meter: 1 Out of 10** - The hosts discuss Diawara's poor summer league performance and why it's not a cause for concern.
- 3 (08:23) **Jack Kayil Debut: Crafty but Raw** - The hosts break down Kayil's first summer league game, focusing on his strengths and limitations.
- 4 (13:56) **Tyler Nickel: The Movement Shooter** - The hosts are highly optimistic about Nickel's summer league performance and his NBA-ready skill set.
- 5 (23:30) **Mailbag: Which Young Guys Get Playing Time?** - The hosts answer a question about which of the Knicks' young players (Kolek, Diawara, Daddy, Nickel) will contribute this season.
- 6 Standout Quotes
- 7 "If there is one thing you don't have to worry about is me overreacting to a small sample. That will not be happening now or ever." - XJ (18:28)
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
The New York Knicks struggle again in their second game of the NBA Summer League opener as Mo Diawara has another lukewarm offensive showing. Are Diawara's struggles a concern? Jack Kayil also makes his debut and shows off some potential while Tyler Nickel continues to shine. Gavin Schall and XJ break it all down and explain why the summer league performances don't have them worried.
Photo Credit: Vincent Carchietta - Imagn Images
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