Hamidou Diallo hasn’t played organized basketball in nearly five months, but he’s drawing interest around the league, sources tell Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog (Twitter link). The Nets, Bulls, Bucks, Heat, Pacers and Jazz have all expressed interest in the athletic shooting guard.
Diallo is currently ranked as the 42nd best prospect in the draft, according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express. Some believe he has a chance to move into the first round, as Zagoria writes in a full-length piece for The New York Times. “I would not be surprised if his combination of athleticism and skills opens some eyes, and then he’ll have a tough decision,” ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla said. ” Do you want to be the 25th pick in this year’s draft or do you want to have a chance to maybe be a top 10 pick [next year].”
The Queens native hasn’t yet made a decision yet on whether he will remain in the draft or play at Kentucky, Zagoria passes along in a full-length piece on his website. Diallo enrolled at the school to play for John Calipari in January but opted not to join the basketball team. He, like all prospects, has until tonight to make a decision.
go to UK
Would be very interesting if Riley goes with the upside with him at that pick. Of the teams I’ve seen with interest, Denver at 13 and Miami at 14 are the highest selections, at the back of the lottery. Theoretically not a bad spot to take a shot like that. But there are also some more established possibilities at those spots as well, so it comes down to what you want from this pick in this first year. For the Heat, they are so don’t have a pick in 2018 and owe a couple of picks in the future. It could make sense to grab a talent while the option is there