NBA free agent roundup: NC State, UNC players sign undrafted contracts

Four players from N.C. State and North Carolina extended their basketball careers this week after signing undrafted free agent deals.

The Wolfpack’s DJ Burns, DJ Horne and Mohamed “Mo” Diarra are on their way to the NBA Summer League. UNC’s Armando Bacot and Cormac Ryan signed tryout deals, known as an Exhibit 10 contract.

Newest Pack Pros

Burns, the NCAA Tournament’s social media darling, is headed to the Cleveland Cavaliers, a move NBA insider Shams Charania reported Burns’ contract Thursday afternoon. The big man also tweeted “See you soon,” roughly 20 minutes before the report was released.

Burns thrilled basketball fans during the Wolfpack’s magical ACC and NCAA Tournament run with his larger-than-life personality and smooth movement on the floor.

In his final season with N.C. State, Burns recorded 12.9 points — including a career-high 529 points for the season — and 4.0 rebounds per game. He scored in double digits 31 times this season and contributed two double-doubles.

“I don’t know how you defend DJ Burns. He’s just so gifted. It’s a dilemma every time down the floor,” North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis said in January. “Do you guard him one on one? Or, do you double team? He’s such a gifted passer. And so you try to mix things up, not give him a steady diet so he knows that he’s going to pass out of the double team or he knows that nobody is coming.”

Burns’ weight was a topic of conversation during his time with the Wolfpack. He was listed at 275 but was believed to be at least 300 pounds during N.C. State’s Final Four run. He was down 45 pounds by the end of May.

Teammate Jayden Taylor spoke highly of Burns in September, noting the positivity he brought to the locker room.

“DJ is just a good dude,” Taylor said. “Somebody you can always be around, always smiling, never has a bad day. There’s so many things I can say about DJ. Forget basketball. He’s just a good person.”

Horne earned a spot with the San Antonio Spurs after working out with a number of teams in the offseason.

He attended Illinois State out of high school before transferring to Arizona State. Then, the Wolfpack lured him home for his final year of collegiate eligibility in an attempt to replace the holes left by Jarkel Joiner and Terquavion Smith.

Horne said in March that not being recruited by any of the local programs, or really anyone else, helped him get to where he is today.

“Honestly,” he said, “knowing what my game was back in high school — I know I wasn’t a Power Five player.

“Me having to swallow that pill. ... Having to swallow that, and take that long route. Going to a school that I thought I was, you know — better than.”

The Raleigh native, with multiple seasons in college on his resume, played an instrumental role in the Wolfpack’s ACC Championship and Final Four run. Horne recording 17.4 points per game in the postseason, including 29 points against North Carolina in the ACC championship.

Horne appeared in 40 games this season, starting in 36. The graduate student averaged 16.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest, while setting a single-season record for 3-pointers made (105).

“This season has been very fun,” Horne said during the ACC Tournament. “I’ve been able to make improvements in all areas of my game. As an individual, it’s been it’s been great.”

After his stellar performances in the postseason, Diarra is headed to Los Angeles after signing a contract with the Lakers. The Frenchman spent the offseason working out and preparing for the call up.

He finished his collegiate career, which spanned from community college to Missouri to N.C. State, with clutch performances down the stretch. Diarra contributed 112 of his 311 rebounds in the final 10 games of the season. He pulled down a record 60 boards in the ACC Tournament, surpassing Tim Duncan’s previous record of 56 rebounds.

Diarra played in 40 games and started 22. He averaged 6.3 points and 7.8 rebounds on the season.

“Mo is very underrated,” Taylor said after the team upset Syracuse in the ACC Tournament. “Shout out to my guy. He’s a monster. People can keep sleeping on Mo, but we know what he can give every single night. We’re glad to have him.”

Carolina in the league

Bacot is the first North Carolina player this season to sign an undrafted contract and heads to the Utah Jazz.

His contract is a one-year minimum salary contract without additional bonuses. The contract details allow NBA teams to alter it into a two-way deal if done before the start of the regular season.

The longtime Tar Heel left the program as the all-time leader in career rebounds (1,715), games played (169) and double-doubles (87), tying for first in ACC history alongside Tim Duncan.

He was an All-ACC first teamer twice and earned a spot on the 2023-24 All Defensive team. Bacot placed third in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

In his final season with the Heels, Bacot led the ACC in overall rebounding with 10.3 per game and contributed 14.5 points per contest.

Bacot prioritized improving his defensive effort in his final season, which paid dividends for UNC. Davis said he set screens effectively for other scorers, leading to made layups and fouls drawn, and took up space with his box outs.

“I definitely want to get physical,” Bacot said in December. “I try to create space and create problems down low.”

He received praise from Wake Forest’s Steve Forbes and then-Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton for his ability to disrupt their efforts.

“Maybe he didn’t score 20 (points) and 20 rebounds, but two coaches, who are unbelievable coaches, what they talked about was Armando and the impact that he had on their team. That’s huge,” Davis said. “And the next level, the NBA notices, as well. I’m really proud of him. He is having a huge impact, just not on the stat sheet.”

Ryan also signed an Exhibit 10 contract on Friday and heads to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The New York native played one season with North Carolina as a graduate transfer after spending time at Stanford and Notre Dame.

In his sixth year, Ryan finished with 11.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He added a personal-best 414 points and shot 35.4% from 3-point range.

He finished his career averaging 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in 152 appearances.

“He’s a veteran player,” said teammate Harrison Ingram after UNC’s first win over Duke on Feb. 3. “He can shoot the ball. He can defend. He’s intense and brings energy to the team.”

Ryan struggled with consistency in his lone year with the Tar Heels, but he etched himself into the Duke-UNC rivlary lore after his dominant performance at Cameron Indoor Stadium in March.

The graduate student shot 6 of 8 from the 3-point line, three of which came before the first TV timeout and put the Heels up 15-4. He added two more in the final 3:49 to seal the victory and ACC regular season title.

“We’ve got such a great team, it could be anybody’s night,” Bacot said at the time. “Cormac stepped up and had a humongous game for us. He was the best player on the floor for both teams. And it’s just huge.”