Cavs sign former second-round pick Khalifa Diop

The Cavaliers have finally brought Khalifa Diop to Cleveland.

The team announced Wednesday that it has signed the 24-year-old center, more than four years after selecting him with the No. 39 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Diop, listed at 6-foot-11 and 231 pounds, spent the past three seasons with Baskonia in Spain. He averaged 3.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 47 games last season while shooting 67 percent from the field.

He also helped Baskonia win the 2026 Copa del Rey title. The signing had been coming into focus over the past few days. José Luis Martínez of Marca reported that Diop traveled to the United States to undergo a physical with the Cavaliers, while Baskonia was preparing for the possibility of losing him.

There’s also a financial reason Diop made sense for Cleveland. As a former second-round pick who had yet to sign an NBA contract, Diop can carry a smaller cap charge than a typical rookie free agent. Hoops Rumors noted that a rookie-minimum deal for Diop would count $1,357,763 for cap, tax and apron purposes.

That’s important for a Cavs team operating under the first-apron hard cap after agreeing to a new three-year, $97 million deal with James Harden.

Diop isn’t arriving with expectations of immediately becoming a major part of the rotation. His production in Europe was modest, and Cleveland already has established size up front.

But the Cavs have kept his draft rights all this time for a reason. Now they’ll finally get a closer look.

Diop will wear No. 18.