Oklahoma City Thunder: 3 reasons Hamidou Diallo was a bad pick

The Oklahoma City Thunder are set to acquire Kentucky 2-guard Hamidou Diallo from the 2018 NBA Draft. Here are three reasons it’s a bad move.

Queens, New York native Hamidou Diallo attended the 2018 NBA Draft at Barclays Center, sitting in the stands with his family and friends. The Brooklyn Nets selected him 45th overall, allowing him to shake hands with deputy commissioner Mark Tatum and don the cap of one of his hometown’s teams.

However, Diallo’s draft rights were soon on the move. The spot he was selected in was already part of a pending trade with the Charlotte Hornets that was first reported a day before the draft. The deal in full sees Dwight Howard coming to Brooklyn in exchange for Timofey Mozgov, this pick, a 2021 second-rounder and cash considerations.

Late on draft night, Charlotte then made another deal, choosing to ship Diallo’s draft rights to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The trades will not be official until after the free agent moratorium on July 6, as the Nets have to wait for some salary to come off of the books. Nevertheless, Hamidou Diallo will eventually be wearing blue, black and orange.

Diallo spent a season and a half at Kentucky, joining as a late commit during the 2016-17 season then playing in 2017-18. The redshirt freshman played and started 37 games, averaging 10.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He struggled with his shooting, putting up rough shooting splits of .428/.338/.616.

Hamidou Diallo is a wildcard, brimming with athleticism and upside. However, there are at least three reasons why the Thunder were better off letting the Hornets keep him.