Just days after another former Maryland star inked his rookie contract, Diamond Stone found himself a little bit richer.
On Thursday evening, Stone signed a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers. The deal will be worth $543,000 during the first season.
Jake Layman signed a three-year deal worth $2.8 million last Wednesday.
Stone recently finished playing for the Clippers in the NBA Summer League. The former Terrapin appeared in all five games and averaged 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds.
Stone’s best game came against the New York Knicks on July 5. The Dominican (Wis.) product scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 92-84 overtime loss.
His 20 points were second on the team to former North Carolina standout Brice Johnson’s 23.
Throughout Summer League play, Stone displayed multiple parts of his game.
He ran the floor extraordinarily well and was effective with his back to the basket. Stone also excelled in the pick-and-roll game for Los Angeles.
Stone was originally selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the No. 40 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. The Pelicans ended up trading Stone’s rights to the Clippers on draft night in exchange for the rights of former Kansas big man Cheick Diallo.
During his time in College Park, Stone averaged 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks for the Terps. He finished second on the team in scoring to Melo Trimble (14.8) and second in rebounding to Robert Carter (6.9).
Stone was originally pegged as a lottery pick prior to his arrival at Maryland. Inconsistent play coupled with effort concerns were some of the reasons for his draft stock falling.
However, Stone will now be learning from former Texas A&M star DeAndre Jordan. Ironically, Jordan learned from Mark Turgeon when Turgeon was with the Aggies prior to coming to the Terps.
Next: It's been a long road for Denzel Conyers
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how much playing time Stone gets when the NBA season begins in the fall.