The Cavaliers may be on the verge of bringing Khalifa Diop to Cleveland, but that doesn’t automatically shut the door on Saliou Niang.
Jake Fischer recently reported that the Cavs plan to use their 14th standard roster spot on a player whose draft rights they already hold, and Diop is believed to be the leading candidate.
Cleveland drafted Diop No. 39 overall in 2022, then left him overseas to continue developing. As Grant Afseth of Cavs Roundtable noted, president of basketball operations Koby Altman said right after that draft that the team intended to keep Diop in Spain. Altman also said special advisor Jose Calderon would keep tabs on his progress.
Now, four years later, the 6-foot-11 center could finally be headed stateside.
Diop played in 28 EuroLeague games last season and posted 4.0 points and 4.2 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game while shooting 69.1 percent from the field. He will turn 25 in January.
Cleveland also owns the rights to Ismael Kamagate, who came over in the five-team Peyton Watson trade, but Fischer suggested Kamagate may not be the player the Cavs have in mind. He is also under contract in Italy.
Niang remains part of the picture, too. The No. 58 pick in the 2025 draft has said he wants to play at LSU this season before eventually joining Cleveland.
There is still uncertainty around that path, though, because his eligibility under the SEC’s new rules for players who previously entered professional drafts has not been resolved.
Even so, RealCavsFans.com noted that the Cavs could make room for both players if Niang’s LSU route falls through. Diop could take the 14th standard roster spot, while Niang could potentially come in on a two-way contract.
That said, there’s no sign that this is currently the team’s exact plan. But Diop is clearly the name to keep an eye on for that final standard spot, and after four years of waiting, his Cleveland arrival may finally be close.
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