The Cleveland Cavaliers added frontcourt depth on Sept. 2, officially signing center Khalifa Diop to a four-year contract. President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman announced the signing from Cleveland Clinic Courts.
According to Yahoo Sports, corroborated by RealGM’s transaction wire and Hoops Rumors, the deal is worth $9.26 million over four years, with the first season fully guaranteed at $1.36 million.
Diop, a 6-foot-11 center, was selected 39th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft. He spent the past three seasons playing for Baskonia in Spain’s Liga ACB and EuroLeague before making the jump to Cleveland. Reporting on the signing describes him as a defense-first center who profiles as a rim protector rather than a scoring option. That puts him behind Cleveland’s established frontcourt of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen on the depth chart, at least to start.
The move is part of a busier Cleveland offseason. The Cavaliers also acquired forward Peyton Watson in an August trade and reportedly agreed to a three-year, $97 million contract with James Harden, though that agreement has not been confirmed by an official team announcement.
A four-year deal for a 39th pick with modest guaranteed money is the kind of low-cost insurance policy teams add late in the offseason rather than a signal of a larger plan. If Mobley or Allen miss time, Diop gives Cleveland a depth option who can defend the rim without eating into the money committed to the roster’s core. Whether he sees regular minutes at all will depend on how camp battles shake out in the final weeks before the season opens.