Koby Altman said Spain would develop Khalifa Diop and put Jose Calderon on him. Four years later, Jake Fischer says Cleveland may sign the center.
Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report reported that the Cleveland Cavaliers plan to fill their 14th roster spot with a draft-rights rookie, and that he has heard Khalifa Diop could be the one to come stateside.
Cleveland selected Diop with the 39th overall pick in 2022 and has maintained his rights for the past four years and two months.
The Cavaliers said at the time that he was staying in Spain. Cleveland president of basketball operations Koby Altman told reporters the day after the draft that Diop would not be with the organization the following season, and that special advisor Jose Calderon would monitor his development in the Liga ACB.
"It's a great league for his development, and if it's the right team, he'll also play against other teams from other countries," Altman said, via Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal.
Diop was 20, named EuroCup Rising Star, averaging 6.5 points, 4.2 rebounds on 62.1% shooting over 54 games for Gran Canaria. He aimed for the NBA, studying Bam Adebayo, Clint Capela, and Joel Embiid.
Gran Canaria introduced him to its academy as a teenager, giving him his first Liga EBA game at age 15. In November 2019, he set a league record by grabbing 28 rebounds in a game, along with 25 points.
He left for Baskonia in 2023 and won the EuroCup. The ACB named him to its All-Young Players Team in 2022 and 2023. Last season, he played 28 EuroLeague games, averaging 4.0 points and 4.2 rebounds in 16.8 minutes, with 69.1% shooting.
Senegal has called him up to the senior level. At the FIBA Under-19 World Cup, he averaged 14 points and 9.4 rebounds, and he scored 20 against the United States.
The other name is Ismael Kamagate, whose rights the Cavaliers picked up on Aug. 19 in the five-team trade for Peyton Watson. Fischer's point was that acquiring Kamagate does not make him the pick.
Kamagate is under contract elsewhere. He signed with Italy's Serie A team Openjobmetis Varese in July for around €500,000 gross in 2026-27 on a two-plus-one deal, Giuseppe Sciascia of La Prealpina reported. Last season, Besiktas paid him €675,000. Malpensa24 reported he injured his knee that season.
A second-round rookie on minimum pay counts as $1,357,763 towards the cap, tax, and apron, while a rookie free agent counts as $2,449,421. Cleveland is restricted by a hard cap at the first apron following the Watson sign-and-trade.
The spot opens when the Cavaliers waive Cam Whitmore, which Fischer expects. Their deadline to do that and stretch his $5,458,310 salary across three seasons is Saturday, Aug. 29.
Diop will turn 25 in January and has yet to play an NBA minute.
