Many, many, many people were surprised as Keita Bates-Diop fell to the late second round of the 2018 NBA Draft. When the Minnesota Timberwolves selected him with the 48th pick, Ohio State fans knew that they had gotten one hell of a steal at that point in the draft, and it appears that the Timberwolves seem to agree.
Keita Bates-Diop signed his contract with Wolves today. League sources tell @TheAthletic the 2nd RD pick gets a 3-year deal, with the first 2 fully guaranteed
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) July 7, 2018
This is significant, as many second round picks sign only two-year deals without guaranteed money, and it shows that the Timberwolves expect KBD to be a contributor to their team for several years to come. Keita is currently participating in the NBA's summer league, and we'll keep you updated on how he's been performing against NBA competition.
A big congrats to KBD and his family on officially signing with the Timberwolves! https://t.co/1L0pqrBgTp
— Chris Holtmann (@ChrisHoltmann) July 7, 2018
From the official Minnesota Timberwolves press release:
Minneapolis/St. Paul – The Minnesota Timberwolves announced the team has signed rookie forward Keita Bates-Diop, who the team selected with the 48th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft on June 21. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.
Bates-Diop was named the 2017-18 Big Ten Player of the Year after averaging 19.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks over his redshirt junior season at Ohio State. A 2017-18 consensus Second Team All-American, Bates-Diop raised his scoring average 10.1 points per game from his redshirt sophomore (9.7 ppg) to his redshirt junior year (19.8 ppg). This season, Bates-Diop paced the Big 10 in scoring, finished second in rebounds (8.7 per contest) and fifth in blocked shots (1.6 blocks per game). He shot 47.2 percent from the floor, including a 35.9 percent mark (66-for-184) from deep.
Congrats to KBD, who should enjoy a great NBA season and career.
