Sam Vecenie Draft Guide...
66. Khalifa Diop
C | Gran Canaria | DOB: Jan. 15, 2002 (Age: 20) | 6-11 | 230 LBS | Hometown: Guereo, Senegal
STRENGTHS
A big with an elite frame. He’s been on the NBA radar for a while now. Great size at 6-foot-11 with a wingspan in the range of
7-foot-3. Has the frame of a legitimate NBA rim-running big. Has enormous shoulders that make you think he could add real
strength in a short time. He also plays hard. Consistently puts himself in the middle of the action for tap-outs and tip-ins on
the glass. Think that’s probably where he is best right now. He runs out on the break looking for passes from his guards either
as a trailer or filling lanes. Offensively, Diop’s best skill, outside of his motor right now, in my opinion, is that he sets excellent
screens. He always works hard to make contact, and he is excellent and flipping and reversing screens to try to get his man a bit
of an advantage. He’s also a smart roller and a relatively effective finisher. He is really savvy with his shot selection and generally
only takes the ones he can finish. He has good touch around the basket and goes through contact with relative ease. I also love
his roll versatility. He’s comfortable rolling all the way to the rim or cutting it short and drawing a man toward him to pass or to
dribble and finish inside. He’s not a great passer yet, but he has some instinct for reading the help-side man.
WEAKNESSES
I don’t find Diop to be a particularly wild athlete with a lot of twitch. He has a bit of vertical pop off two feet, but he typically
has to really load into it. He’s not all that quick off his feet. You see that most with his finishing numbers: He makes about
60 percent of his shots at the rim in half-court settings, not a great number for a true rim runner. You also see it with him in
ball screens. Plays very upright. His instincts are not great away from the rim right now. His use of angles is poor, and if you
catch him leaning the wrong way, it’s hard for him to get back into the play. Gets caught in no-man’s land between the roller and
the ballhandler far too regularly. Also generally don’t love his instincts as a shot blocker and rim protector. It’s way too easy to
get him out of the play with fakes because he’s overaggressive. I also have some real worries with his hands. They aren’t horrible,
but there are a lot of times where he doesn’t seem to come down cleanly with the ball. This is where the turnovers come up for
him. He has a high turnover rate for someone with this limited of a role. Given how much of his role comes down to catching
and finishing, I have some substantial concerns about this being a real issue for his long-term prospects. Diop also is not a
shooter, and I don’t really buy the jumper getting better. Doesn’t seem to have great touch. His balance is all over the place and
a mess. His legs go flying everywhere if there is any sort of movement involved. Additionally, his shot is on a straight line toward
the rim.
SUMMARY
I’m a bit skeptical on Diop. He’s a potential stash in the back 10 picks of the draft just because his size and frame make him an
intriguing player, but I’m a bit skeptical that he’s got real NBA upside until his positioning improves, his hands improve, his
instincts as a rim protector improve and he becomes more capable of staying in the play regularly. He is playing real minutes in
a high-level professional league, and that is worth considering, but this is a pure second-round stash play, and I don’t know that
he’d be at the top of my list in that regard.