Knicks Draft Pick: 'I'm Planning on Playing Here'

Pacome Dadiet has bold aspirations for the 2024-25 season, his first as a New York Knick.

Jul 29, 2021; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Keon Johnson (Tennessee) walks off the stage after being selected as the number twenty-one overall pick by the New York Knicks in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Pacome Dadiet got a taste of New York Knicks basketball on Wednesday night and he has no intentions of weening himself from it.

The 18-year-old French prospect has bold aspirations for his first year in the Knicks' system. While many believe he'll wind up playing another year or two overseas, Dadiet certainly doesn't share those sentiments.

" I'm planning on playing here," Dadiet said when asked if he'll spend another year in Europe (h/t ASAP Sports Transcripts).

Despite his optimism, Dadiet undoubtedly faces an uphill battle to make the Knicks' roster: it's hard enough for rookies beyond their 18th year to crack head coach Tom Thibodeau's steadfast rotations and it will be awfully tempting for the Knicks, who have already embarked on an expensive offseason shopping spree, to stash Dadiet in Europe to save in excess of $2.2 million in 2024-25 cap space.

But one can hardly fault Dadiet, the last of four French-born prospects chosen on Thursday night, for grasping onto his NBA opportunity the moment it was presented. Dadiet was envisioned by most experts as a second-round pick but he apparently caught the Knicks' eyes well enough to justify fist-round honors, which is particularly surprising considering the way the franchise has endured French-based disappointment at the draft (i.e. Frederic Weis, Frank Ntilikina).

"I think it's beautiful," said Dadiet, who spent last season in Germany's Basketball Bundesliga. "I took a lot of risk. I left France when I was 17. So I did the last two years in Germany. I felt like it was a risk, and I believed in myself. I worked a lot and stayed confident."

Time will tell how many other rookies join Dadiet, as the Knicks hold two further selections in the second round of the draft slated for Thursday afternoon (4 p.m. ET, ESPN).

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