Lamine Diane

Sixers Waive Lamine Diane, Justin Robinson

The Sixers have waived Lamine Diane and Justin Robinson, the team’s PR department tweets.

The moves are being made in order to complete the Al Horford trade with the Thunder, which can become official on Tuesday.

Diane and Robinson were signed to Exhibit 10 contracts, meaning they’ll likely land with the team’s G League affiliate – the Delaware Blue Coats. They could receive bonuses worth up to $50K if they spend at least 60 days with the Blue Coats.

Philadelphia had the maximum 20 players in camp before waiving Diane and Robinson and needed to open a couple more roster spots to finalize the Horford deal.

The Sixers are receiving guard Danny Green and wing Terrance Ferguson in the deal. Big man Vincent Poirier, who was recently traded by the Celtics to Oklahoma City, is also coming to Philadelphia, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets. That confirms a report from France’s L’Equipe that Poirier is heading to the Sixers.

A 6’7″ undrafted rookie forward, Diane put up big stats for Cal State Northridge in his two college seasons, averaging 25.1 PPG, 10.8 RPG, and 2.1 BPG in a total of 52 games (35.5 MPG). He won the Big West Player of the Year award in consecutive years before declaring for the draft this spring.

Robinson appeared in 33 G League games with Delaware and Capital City last season, averaging 14.2 points, 6.2 assists and 31.2 minutes per game. The 23-year-old guard also played nine brief games with the Wizards, scoring a total of 13 points in 49 minutes.

Sixers Sign Lamine Diane To Exhibit 10 Contract

The Sixers have officially signed undrafted rookie Lamine Diane, with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey posting a message on Twitter welcoming him to the organization. Diane’s deal with Philadelphia is an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

A 6’7″ forward, Diane put up monster numbers for Cal State Northridge in his two college seasons, averaging 25.1 PPG, 10.8 RPG, and 2.1 BPG in a total of 52 games (35.5 MPG). He won the Big West Player of the Year award in consecutive years before declaring for the draft this spring.

Although Diane wasn’t drafted on November 18, he’ll head to training camp with the 76ers and should have a chance to land with the team’s G League affiliate – the Delaware Blue Coats – if he doesn’t make the regular season roster.

The Sixers now project to have a full 20-man roster once they sign first-rounder Tyrese Maxey and complete their agreed-upon Al Horford trade with Oklahoma City.

Draft Notes: Combine, Diane, Pierre-Louis, Eastern

Although the NBA’s 2020 draft combine won’t take place in Chicago next week as originally scheduled, the league hasn’t given up on the idea of holding it – in some form – later this year. If it can happen in person, the combine may still be held in Chicago, but a more likely outcome would see it held in Las Vegas or Orlando, assuming that’s where the NBA sets up its “bubble” to resume the season, writes Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com.

As Zagoria notes, with NBA teams and personnel all gathered in one place to complete the season, it would make sense to host the combine in that location rather than asking prospects and evaluators to travel elsewhere. Of course, it remains to be seen whether the combine will be able to happen in person at all — a virtual event may end up being the most viable scenario.

Here’s more on the 2020 NBA draft

  • Cal State Northridge forward Lamine Diane has signed with agent Richie Felder of CAA for representation, tweets Jeff Goodman of Stadium. As a result, Diane will go pro and remain in the draft, forgoing his final two years of college eligibility. He currently ranks 71st overall on ESPN’s big board.
  • Like Diane, Temple guard Nate Pierre-Louis has decided to sign with an agent and remain in the draft, he tells Goodman (Twitter link). Pierre-Louis, who had one year of NCAA eligibility left, doesn’t show up on ESPN’s list of 2020’s top 100 prospects.
  • After deciding to test the draft waters this spring, Purdue’s Nojel Eastern has also opted to transfer, announcing today (via Twitter) that he has committed to Michigan for next season. While Eastern didn’t mention the draft, it appears he’ll play one more year of college ball before going pro.
  • Although these early entrants are making their draft decisions now, there’s no rush to do so. The NCAA announced on Wednesday that it has indefinitely postponed its June 3 withdrawal deadline for early entry prospects.

Draft Decisions: Diane, Cockburn, Darling, Jones

Two-time Big West Player of the Year Lamine Diane is among the latest NCAA underclassmen to declare for the 2020 NBA draft, announcing his decision on Instagram.

A 6’7″ forward, Diane put up monster numbers for Cal State Northridge in his two college seasons, averaging 25.1 PPG, 10.8 RPG, and 2.1 BPG in a total of 52 games (35.5 MPG). The sophomore forward currently ranks as the No. 73 prospect on ESPN’s big board, making him a candidate to be drafted this summer.

Here are a few more updates on early entrants declaring for the 2020 draft:

  • Illinois freshman center Kofi Cockburn announced on Instagram that is entering the draft, and the wording of his statement suggests he intends to go pro, forgoing his remaining eligibility. The big man averaged 13.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 1.4 BPG in 31 games (27.4 MPG) during his first – and potentially only – season with the Fighting Illini.
  • Delaware junior guard Nate Darling announced on Twitter that he’ll test the draft waters while maintaining his college eligibility. Darling averaged 21.0 PPG on .446/.399/.854 shooting in 2019/20 after transferring from UAB.
  • Middle Tennessee guard C.J. Jones is forgoing his final year of college eligibility to enter the draft and go pro, according to an announcement from the program (Twitter link). Jones was the team’s leading scorer in 2019/20, averaging 16.2 PPG with a .400 3PT%.