NY Knicks: What If the Knicks Just Drafted the Next Jimmy Butler and Nikola Jokić?🗽🔥#nba #knicks

NY Knicks: What If the Knicks Just Drafted the Next Jimmy Butler and Nikola Jokić?🗽🔥#nba #knicks

[Music] It always starts with a whisper. A second round pick here, a G-League flyer there, someone you barely notice on draft night. someone that the ESPN broadcast barely covers. But then years later, you look up and they’re standing under the confetti, hoisting that Larry O’Brien trophy while the entire world sits there, looks at them, and wonders, “How the hell did they end up here?” That’s the story of Jimmy Butler. That’s the story of Nicole Joic. And maybe hopefully that could be the story of Muhammad Ywara and Dink Pate if fate, if grit and a little bit of that recent Nick’s luck align just right. Because what if the next elite duo, our two-way hammer, our hopeful basketball soant, what if the two of them are already here? What if these two kids can grow up to wear the blue and orange like legends? And that’s what I want to dream about today here on X Deli. [Music] [Applause] Yeah. So, we start out with what it is. What if Muhammad Ywara ends up like Jimmy Butler, the makeup of a grit god? We’re going to start with Diwara. The kid’s built like a statue and defends like his life depends on it. He is raw, yes, but so is Jimmy Butler. When Butler was drafted in 2011 with the 30th pick, dead last in the first round, he wasn’t supposed to be a star. He wasn’t even supposed to be a starter. He was just a guy who could hustle, who could defend, and maybe someday average 12 points a night if the wind blew right. The Awara 2 is coming in under the radar, but for those watching closely, there’s something there, something relentless, something personal. You can’t deny it. He passes the eye test. He’s not just guarding wings. He’s hounding them. He’s talking. He’s smirking. He’s bothering stars who usually breeze through summer league like it’s a layup line. Now imagine Diwara with time. Three years under Mike Brown’s system, defensive accountability or even working with the Knicks development staff. If a coaching change is what leads to a more offensive minded system, let’s add a few grown man summers in the weight room. Add one of Josh Hart’s kidneys if that’s what it takes. Add some OG anobi juice, some jump shot clinics, and suddenly what you have, you got a 6’7 nightmare on defense who can guard three positions and score in transition. That’s not just a role player. That’s a problem. If we follow the Jimmy Butler blueprint, it’s easy, too. The path is there. Jimmy Butler didn’t become him overnight. He averaged 2.6 points per game as a rookie, but he soaked up every scrap of playing time. He learned more from Lu All Deng and slowly he molded himself into an all-star by the fourth season. The Knicks in recent times have shown that level of patience. Then came his killer instinct, the playoff moments, the shoulder check energy that made him one of the league’s most feared competitors. Giwara has that same chip. His journey from France to New York was marked by underestimation. He doesn’t need you to believe in him. I love that. But what if the Knicks do? With OG Anonobi and McCll Bridges and Josh in the locker room, Diwir is now surrounded by wing defenders who do the dirty work and get paid for it. He doesn’t have to look far to find a blueprint. He just has to get in line and clock in. So imagine that. Imagine a future Knicks playoff rotation in which Diwara enters game six of the Eastern Conference Finals. Let’s imagine that. This is the dream video. Let’s imagine it. He enters the Eastern Conference Finals as the sixman drawing the Jason Tatum assignment, clamping down on switches and diving for loose balls like he lost his rent money in the paint. That’s what he shows flashes of having that potential for. That’s not a fantasy. That’s what Butler did. That’s what Garalla could do. So you got to be hyped for it. That dream can be a reality super easily. Now let’s look at Dink Pate. Let’s say, all right, I know for a god, but let’s have that Jokic vision in a god’s body for Dink Pay. The vision that nobody saw coming, but Shradamama sees it coming. The name Malone sounds like a folk hero in the making, doesn’t it? The boy is tall. He’s a smooth play playmaker. He has vision. Honestly, that’s ahead of his age. At 6’7, he’s a point guard trapped in a forward’s body. And if that sounds familiar, yeah, it should because it’s Jokic. Not in a literal sense. I already know y’all going to come for me. Joic is a 611 Serbian bear with ballet feet, but in a cerebral sense is what I’m talking about. Pate sees things most guards don’t. He passes guys open. He feels space on the court like he was born with a GPS in the in his bones. And like Jokic, he doesn’t jump over phone books. You can’t measure his future by his vertical. You have to measure it by his feel for the game. And that is palpable when you watch it on video. It’s interesting that he did take that G-League rout. The G-League Forge. P already made history as the youngest American professional basketball player when he joined the GLeague Unite system. That’s no joke. He skipped the traditional uh NCAA hype machine and he went straight into grown man basketball with bruises with vets, guys playing for contracts. That was trial by fire, not preseason cupcake schedules. And guess what? He didn’t break. He learned the same way Jokic learned in the Adriatic League. Where spacing was a myth, postplay was a wall. Pate got his lessons the hard way. He’s been humbled, but he hasn’t been broken. And now he’s on the Knicks radar, a system that has quietly developed late bloomers better than most. Don’t forget what they did with Quinton Grimes or how they helped Emanuel quickly turn into a six-man of the year candidate. The Knicks have a reputation for grinding talent into diamonds. And Pate has the tools. If he adds a jump shot and a defensive base, the Knicks may have a star in disguise. So, I’m I’m hoping if we dreaming right now, we’re not hoping, we’re dreaming. If we’re dreaming right now, I’m hoping that the Jokic path is what he takes in spirit. Let’s be clear, Dink P is not a center, but that doesn’t mean he can’t follow the Jokic model of stardom. Both were overlooked in the draft. Both are unhurried. Both possess a unique feel for angles, for rhythm, and reads. And just like Jokic redefined what a big man could be, Pay could easily help redefine what a lead guard looks like in 2028. You can see in the preseason, the man is a quarterback. He’s a tempo manager. He’s a creator. He may not put up 30, but he might set up 30 every night. Imagine Dink Pate running pick and rolls with Carl Anthony Towns. audition back door lobbs to McCall Bridges. Imagine him pulling the ball out on a two for one to call for a horn set. And it works because his basketball IQ is 3 years ahead of his birth certificate. Imagine that. Now imagine him doing it in Madison Square Garden. Bro, it’s almost like never that the Knicks find the highlevel diamonds. That’s not just good basketball. That would be poetry for us. And and in addition to imagining Diwara by himself that way and Pate that way, imagine if it all comes together. Yeah, we about to get reckless right now. We about to turn this from a dream from us to a nightmare for others. Let’s assume that the best case scenario is the Aara becomes a defensive tone setter, an emotional battery of the team, and the second coming of Jimmy Butler without the Marquette jersey. And then let’s assume that Pate evolves into a superized Sha Livingston with Joic passing instincts. Cool, composed, but surgical. Now plug them into the current Knicks core. Jaylen Brunson, MVP caliber, floor general. McCll Bridges, elite wing, who doesn’t need the ball. Ojobi, defensive juggernaut and spot-up killer. Carl Anthony Town, stretch big, who can feast inside. Joshua, glue guy, who turns loose balls into fan eruptions. Now add two homegrown talents off the bench. Jawara hounding the opposing star. P running the second unit with vision and pace. That is how dynasties start. That would be the beginning of a whole new era. That’s how the Knicks finally become what their fans have dreamed of for 50 years. Not just a team in the playoffs, not just a tough out or a fun story, but a t but a legitimate title contending empire. That’s why we dreaming today. That’s why we’re dreaming today. So, this is why you should believe, Nick fans, in these two pieces that we have that as early as this season, we’re going to see what they got. One, because you’ve seen this movie before, not just with us. Jimmy Butler wasn’t Jimmy Butler until he was. Nicole Joic was literally drafted during a Taco Bell commercial. Sometimes the best stories in the NBA aren’t five-star recruits, they’re quiet arrivals. What if this time the Knicks aren’t just watching that movie? What if this time we star in it? Because the Knicks have finally become a developmental powerhouse. Say what you will. Anybody who is a non- Nick fan, say what you will about the Knicks of the past. They used to chew up talent and spit it out. But that’s changed. Jaylen Brunson. Jaylen Brunson came in as a good player and he became a superstar. Quinton Grimes became a starter. Miles McBride turned into a rotational piece. Dante Danchenzo found a home on another team because his star shone bro bright in New York. Isaiah Hartinstein is a champion now. He flourished here. Even Julius Randle had an allNBA resurrection here. This team builds now. Yawwara and Pate are joining a perfect ecosystem. Veterans who lead. A city that cares. A franchise that’s finally stable. Coaches who coach. All they have to do is want it. All they have to do is want it. Because hope is what New York is built on. Nick fans don’t need false hope. They need real stories. They need fire. They need believability. Well, here’s something. Here’s something believable. That two kids, Diwara and Pate, who nobody expected much from, could change everything. Because what made Jimmy Butler a star wasn’t just his skill. It was his fire. It was his refusal to accept no. What made Nicola Joic a superstar wasn’t just touch passes and footwork. It was his mind, his calm and chaos. Jawara and Pate, they have those seeds. If the Knicks water them, if the culture embraces them, and if fate finally bends towards the garden, this team could not only be good for for for now, it could be good for a long time. And not only good, it could be dangerous. So, let’s let the garden grow. You don’t always know who the next great Nick is going to be. In 2022, most fans thought Brunson was a nice signing, not a future playoff legend. In 2010, nobody thought Jimmy Butler would be the face of Miami. In 2014, nobody thought Joic would reize revolutionize the sport. And in 2025, you might not think Muhammad Diwara or Dink Pate matter much now. But check back in 3 years when the Garden is chanting their names and the rest of the league is wondering how New York did it again. Because sometimes the next great era doesn’t come with fireworks. It comes quietly. But it comes. I know y’all already saying, “Hey yo, and when it does, the are going to be ready.” Let’s dream this morning. Let’s dream. Let’s believe. But let’s build. Let’s work. Keep this in mind. Same thing applies to life. That applies to our team. If there’s no struggle, there’s no progress. But also remember this. Whether it’s out there in the real world or here in these YouTube streets, here in Nick’s Deli, baby, everybody eats. I’m your boy Sh and I’m out. All right. Peace.

Could the Knicks have just uncovered their own Jimmy Butler and Nikola Jokić… without anyone realizing it?

In this deep-dive Knicks Deli exclusive, we explore the exciting what if of Mohammad Diawara and Dink Pate turning into stars the same way Jimmy and Jokic did—quietly, unexpectedly, and then unstoppably.

Diawara has that dog in him—a raw defensive menace with Butler-level energy.
Pate? He might be a 6’7” playmaking savant with a mind for the game like Jokić—if Jokić played point guard in sneakers instead of ski boots.

🗽 What if the Knicks are building something deeper than star-chasing?
🧠 What if the next era of greatness is already here—homegrown and hungry?

This is one of those videos Knicks fans will want to come back to in three years when the rest of the league is asking, “How’d New York pull this off?”

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👇 Drop a comment:
Will Diawara or Pate be that guy for New York?

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