Breaking down Hamidou Diallo’s contract with the Thunder

Former Kentucky Wildcat Hamidou Diallo heard his name called in the second round of this summer’s NBA Draft. The Brooklyn Nets selected Diallo 45th overall to later trade him to the Charlotte Hornets on draft night.

The Hornets then sent Diallo to the Oklahoma City Thunder where the Kentucky guard inked his four year, six million dollar deal.

Per Spotrac, Diallo has two fully guaranteed years on his deal with the first year at $838,464 and the second at $1,416,852.

The third year of his deal is a team option of $1,663,861, and the fourth year is a qualifying offer of $2,145,192.

If Diallo can’t come to a contract extension before then, he’ll hit restricted free agency in 2021.

The Thunder have Diallo listed as the fourth shooting guard on their depth chart behind starter Andre Roberson, sixth man Alex Abrines and then Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot.

With Roberson coming off a major injury and Abrines limited defensively, Diallo could work his way into seeing some playing time during the regular season.

Combine his athletic ability with that of Russell Westbrook’s, the Thunder could roll out some interesting 2-way lineups.

If Diallo doesn’t pan out on the Thunder, don’t be surprised to see a few other teams take a flyer on him. His athleticism is a valuable asset in today’s NBA and there will always be roster spots for athletic wings who can create off the dribble and defend multiple positions.

While Diallo is patiently waiting, crafting his playmaking skills and focusing in on defense should be his two biggest points of agenda.

It’s also good to see Diallo is going to collect at least a few million dollars in the NBA after he made what most called a questionable decision to leave Kentucky following an up-and-down career in Lexington.

But in the end, Diallo will get to collect a nice paycheck while living out his NBA dreams.