Ousmane Dieng could be the missing piece to the Thunder‘s rotation, according to Rylan Stiles of SI.com. Dieng, a 2022 lottery pick, has spent the bulk of his first two NBA seasons in the G League with the Oklahoma City Blue. He appeared in just 33 games with the Thunder this season.
“Like every young player, he has so many things to work on,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said. “When we drafted him, he was almost like a year young for that draft. We kind of knew that his timeline and his pathway would maybe be different, certainly from [Jalen Williams] because Dub was somebody coming in that we thought could get on the court sooner. But [Dieng] has responded pretty well. I’m pleased with him. I think he’s made some big strides here.”
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- The Thunder own the No. 12 pick of the draft via Houston and optimally, they’ll find a way to trade back in what’s considered a weak class, Stiles opines in a separate story. They might be able to add to their stash of future assets and still find a contributor.
- The Timberwolves’ starting lineup could make a combined $167MM next season, which would push team salary near the luxury tax line for those five players alone. The Wolves must decide whether they can trim salary without sacrificing team quality, but since they’re a serious contender, going well over the tax line for at least a couple of seasons might be worth the cost. Danny Leroux of The Athletic explores what they could do to reduce future obligations, including a potential trade of either Karl-Anthony Towns or Naz Reid.
- Should the Nuggets consider trading Michael Porter Jr.? The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando explores that topic, noting that all four teams in this year’s conference finals got there with the aid of recent blockbuster deals.
Dieng only had a second half resurgence because no one was guarding him – if instead of trying to develop him into the next Pokusevski, the thunder shipped off his and K. Williams contracts and offered Anunoby max money, they could be title favorites next season. While Anunoby isn’t a max player in a bubble, he made a huge difference for the Knicks this season and the thunder have the ability to max a player before J. Williams and holmgren have bigger salaries. Anunoby would be the perfect fit in their starting lineup and allow giddey to settle back into his natural role as a PG off the bench. It would at least put a lot of pressure on the Knicks to see if they would be willing to match (although of course be off brand with what the thunder prefer to do)…
And as far as entertaining the idea of trading Reid for the twolves, that would be almost as asinine as trading Edwards.
They would have needed to make the OG move earlier in the season. The NY deal was better than OKC could offer. OKC shipped off Poku, Tre Mann, Micic, & Bertans…none of those guys are as good or proven like Quickley & RJ who aren’t top level guys but still have shown to be good. Mann flashes in Summer League and against less talent but never plays well against NBA level talent.
I’m talking about the upcoming offseason. Anunoby is a free agent and they can open up a max money slot.
Yes hopefully they have a chance to meet with him. NYK could offer him the most and they were performing well with all those injuries.
If you can’t go over cap. When you’re a contender. Then you should sell the team.
We can only hope Glenn is forced to sell the team.
I think we’ve reached our ceiling with KAT as our #2 scoring option, honestly. I love his loyalty, but his clutch (and overall playoff) play is a liability. If the Suns want to shake things up (they have to), I would offer KAT, NAW, and a 2031 first rounder for Durant.
Moving Porter would be tough for me, but sometimes tough decisions need to be made. If they can get a bonafide shooter or two in return, I’d make that move.