The first Maryland basketball star is off the board.
Center Diamond Stone, who was widely expected to be the first Terrapin selected, was drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans with the 40th overall pick. However, Stone will be traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in a trade that also will involve former Kansas big man Cheick Diallo.
Stone was the fourth true center picked in the second round of the NBA Draft. The former five-star recruit was picked after Ivica Zubac (No. 32 to the Los Angeles Lakers), Diallo (No. 33), and and Chinanu Onuaku (No. 37 to the Houston Rockets).
During his lone season with the Terps, Stone averaged 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. The former Dominican High School (Wis.) star finished second on the team in both points and rebounds.
Upon his arrival at Maryland, Stone was pegged to be a lottery pick based on his tremendous skillset. As the 2015-16 season began, Stone came off the bench for the Terps, but eventually started next to forward Robert Carter.
Stone’s shining moment came against Penn State when he scored 39 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a comeback win for Maryland.
Even after the season, Stone was still being projected as a first round pick in many mock drafts. Many publications had the Golden State Warriors at No. 30 as a potential landing spot.
However, Stone slid into the second round due to the abundance of big men in this draft.
Now Stone will play for the Clippers and can learn from another former Mark Turgeon project in DeAndre Jordan.