The Pelicans have moved up six spots in the draft, sending the Nos. 39 and 40 selections to the Clippers in exchange for the No. 33 pick, reports Dan Woike of The Orange County Register (via Twitter). With the newly acquired pick, New Orleans selected Kansas big man Cheick Diallo.
Diallo, a 6’9″ freshman out of Senegal, was projected as a late first-rounder. He was ranked 24th by ESPN’s Chad Ford and DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony on their lists of the top 100 prospects.
Diallo averaged just 7.5 minutes of playing time at Kansas, scoring 2.5 points per night and grabbing 1.9 rebounds. He is known as an excellent defender and rebounder, but needs to develop an offensive game.
Great upside pick to develop