Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to trade guard Hamidou Diallo to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for forward Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and a 2027 second-round draft pick (via the Houston Rockets).
Wojnarowski adds that the Pistons see Diallo, who will be a restricted free agent in the offseason, as a core player for their franchise.
In the case of Oklahoma City, the rise of defensive standout Luguentz Dort made Diallo an expendable commodity that will allow the Thunder to add to their sizable horde of draft assets.
Diallo, now 22-years-old, was the 45th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft out of the NCAA powerhouse University of Kentucky.
Listed at 6’5″ and 202 pounds with a 6’10” wingspan, Diallo is a long and explosive athlete on the wing. The 2019 Slam Dunk Champion has been having the best season of his career with averages of 11.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game while shooting .481 percent from the field and .293 percent from 3-point range.
Pistons general manager Troy Weaver, who appears to be a fan of long and athletic players, was vice president of the Thunder when they made a draft night trade for Diallo.
Mykhailiuk, now in his third season, is widely regarded as a 3-point specialist. Shooting .333 percent from 3-point range on 4.8 attempts per game this season, the Ukraine native converted .404 percent of his 3-point attempts on 5.1 attempts per game in 2019-20.
Oklahoma City, who ranks 27th in the NBA with a team 3-point percentage of .344, will hope that Mykhailiuk can play much more like he did last season.
