'Step by step': Cleveland Cavaliers draftee Khalifa Diop dreams of being an NBA All-Star

INDEPENDENCE — Khalifa Diop apologized for his lack of proficiency with the English language, but he was ready to clear one thing up.

The Cavaliers' 39th overall pick, a 7-foot-1 center from Senegal, is not related to former Cleveland center DeSagana Diop.

“No, no. I don't know him. I know he played here and his last name is Diop,” Khalifa Diop said Friday as he and 14th overall pick Ochai Agbaji of Kansas were introduced at Cleveland Clinic Courts. “Everybody told me. 'You know him?' No, he's not my brother.”

Diop laughed at the thought. DeSagana Diop, a 7-foot, 280-pound center, was the Cavs’ eighth overall pick in 2001 and played 12 years in the NBA, his first four with the Cavs.

A former assistant coach with the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets, DeSagana Diop, 40, was hired last month as the coach of the New York Knicks’ G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks.

Khalifa Diop, 20, a native of Guediawaye, Senegal, played last season for Gran Canaria in Spain, averaging 6.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.8 blocked shots in 15.7 minutes of 49 games.

President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman said Diop would remain in Spain next season under the watchful eye of ex-Cav Jose Calderon, now a special advisor to the front office.

“It’s a great league for his development, and if it’s the right team, he’ll also play against other teams from other countries,” Altman said of Diop. ‘Hopefully the team he will play for will be EuroLeague level even though it’s in the Spanish League. Jose will make sure he’s well taken care of.”

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That didn’t diminish how much being drafted meant to Diop, the youngest of 11 children, the others still in his native country.

“This is too important for me because I’m trying for this,” Diop said. “As a kid, I’m working hard …because I’m so excited. I keep working so hard for playing for NBA [in] a couple years. One day I want to be playing in the All-Star Game.

“Step by step, this is my dream right now.”

Diop said he likes defense, the primary reason the Cavs selected him.

“I like to guard point guards, switching in pick-and-roll,” Diop said. “But I need to prove a lot by step by step, I need to prove my basketball.”

That’s what Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff wanted to hear.

“That’s part of the reason he’s sitting here today,” Bickerstaff said. “You can watch and then when he was here in his workout, you got a firsthand feel of what it’s like. People can say what they want to say about ‘offense, offense, offense,’ and it sounds cliche, but when it comes time to win, you’ve got to be able to get a stop.

“Big guys in this league have been faded out no matter how good they’ve been in the playoffs each round by round because they can’t switch and guard small guys. When you have big guys that can stay on the floor, that size, strength, and skill is going to win it in the end. But they’ve got to be able to keep those smaller guys in front of them. Obviously, he has the ability to do that.”

Diop said he’s been watching video of NBA players for years, starting with the late Kobe Bryant. Now he’s concentrating on big men he may eventually have to go up against, mentioning Bam Adebayo, Joel Embiid and Clint Capela.

“Big guys who protect the paint, who run, who do good blocks, play defense well. I love it,” Diop said.

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Cavs at www.beaconjournal.com/cavs. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Cavaliers draftee Khalifa Diop to develop in Spain