It’s been a whirlwind kind of day for former Kentucky Wildcats guard Hamidou Diallo.
Diallo was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the second round as the 45th pick overall in this year’s NBA Draft, courtesy of the Brooklyn Nets.
However, instead of beginning his professional career flanked by fellow Wildcats in Malik Monk and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Diallo will kick off his NBA stint with Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Oklahoma City has acquired Kentucky’s Hamidou Diallo, league sources tell ESPN. Charlotte selected him with the 45th pick. Deal cannot be done until July 6.
As what Wojnarowski mentioned, the deal will not get finalized until July 6, as the pick the Hornets used to take Diallo was included in the trade that brought Dwight Howard to the Brooklyn Nets. The transaction will only get completed once the moratorium ends, which in turn will allow Brooklyn to absorb Howard’s contract without going over the salary cap.
Hamidou Diallo is an intriguing prospect, one who took an unusual path to the NBA. He committed to Kentucky in January last year but did not play a single game in the 2016-17 season. He originally declared for the 2017 NBA Draft before deciding to return for one more year in Lexington. He then averaged 10.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 37 games while operating alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Kevin Knox in Kentucky’s talented backcourt.
Diallo won’t have to miss Kentucky that much in Oklahoma City, though, as he’s still going to be around the pair of Dakari Johnson and Patrick Patterson, who are former Wildcats themselves.
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