Former NBA center DeSagana Diop will join the Knicks organization as head coach of its G-League Westchester team, replacing Derrick Alston.
The signing creates some intrigue. Diop, who most recently was an assistant coach with the Rockets, was a Jazz assistant from 2016-20. At Utah, he worked with current Knicks assistant Johnny Bryant and coached Donovan Mitchell, who is a Knicks trade target.
Diop, whose agent used to be Knicks president Leon Rose, is leaving an NBA assistant job to be a G-League head coach, which usually isn’t a step up.
Hence, there could be a scenario in which Diop could be promoted to the NBA club, should there be a change in personnel at any time during the 2022-23 season. The Knicks also have a vacancy on the NBA coaching staff after assistant Kenny Payne left for Louisville.
Diop, a native of Senegal, was hired by Houston essentially to be a big-man coach after a 12-year NBA career as a respectable defensive center. Diop played from 2001 to 2013 with Cleveland, Dallas, the Nets and Charlotte.
After retiring, Diop coached the Texas Legends of the G-League from 2014-16. Now he’s back in the G-League. The only question is how long he will be there.
Diop is the cousin of Knicks personnel director Makhtar N’Diaye, who was the first player from Senegal to play in the NBA.