Nets interested in Hamidou Diallo?

Adam Zagoria, the New York area hoops writer, tweets that the Nets are at the least doing their due diligence on Hamidou Diallo, the Queens baller who has declared for the draft after a “none-and-done” year at Kentucky.

Other sources have suggested the Nets, who pick at Nos. 22 and 27, have interest in the 6’5” shooting guard. Diallo has yet to sign with an agent meaning he has until May 25 to decide whether to return to Lexington. He is all over draft boards, with SBNation placing him at No. 10 and Draft Express at No. 36 in their latest latest mocks.

Zagoria later quoted an “industry source” as saying Diallo would be a smart pick for a team with multiple picks late in the first round, like the Nets.

“Three teams in the 20s have multiple picks,” one industry source said. “I would definitely take him in that range.”

It is not unusual for a team to check with a variety of people who have had contact with a draft prospect. Just this weekend, Trajan Langdon, the Nets assistant GM, spoke to the issue in an interview with BeIN Sport. He laid out what a team wants to know.

“What kind of character? What kind of person are they? Are they willing to commit to a team, what kind of team player are they? Are they a team-first player? Are they unselfish? Are they a hard worker? Are they coachable?... I think these qualities as a player are just as important as their qualities as an actual basketball player, their skillsets.”

Diallo didn’t play a game for the Wildcats. After enrolling in January, he chose instead to train with John Calipari’s coaching staff and take classes. Under league rules, he became eligible for this year’s draft.

Here’s video of him a year ago playing for the New York Rens. Zagoria reports the Rens coach, Andy Borman, was contacted by the Nets on Monday.

• Hamidou Diallo skipping 5-on-5 at NBA Combine - Adam Zagoria - Zagsblog
• If Hamidou Diallo Stays In The Draft, The Brooklyn Nets Need To Take Him - Nicholas LeTourneau - Brook-Lin