This guy is only 18 years old, 6’10 and can do it all. Very intriguing. Seems like he has 2 way player potential.
I like how 3 point shooting is a "check" and the dude is shooting 24% from the the FIBA 3-point line.
In his defence, he was shooting about 7% for the bulk of the season - he really struggled with the physicality of the NBL. It isn't an athletic league, but a lot of body contact is allowed. My preference with the Nets pick is a 6'8+ small forward - Sochan or Jovic or Brown or Baldwin or Dieng if the pick is around that 17-18 mark (possibly trade back?). All have talent, but need development. Dieng was a top 5 prospect before heading to Australia. The physical avoidance he has shown on the court is a red flag, and sees him in the 2nd round in a lot of mocks. But he is young and has great potential to be a nice starting SF at the NBA level if it all pans out
Yeah, his FG% and 3P% are pretty bad, but it appears in the last few games, he's improved his play. Again, it's just from looking at the stats. I always take most of these tweets with a grain of salt when I read them. But honestly, I've never seen the guy play other than in tweet highlights and those are always... highlights, so I'm not going to say he can play or not. I'm just wondering if his play in the last few games is a good run he's had or an indication of good things to come. I mean Garry Bird looked like Garry Bird for a while, too. If I showed showed somebody his highlights, they'd think he deserves to start, play 40 mpg and be an MVP candidate. I'll be looking forward to reading more about the kid, though.
His stock may surge in workouts? He hardly played the first half of the season - limited bench minutes, but has been better of late Put it this way, compared to Giddey, he needs a lot of work! But Dieng is trending in the right direction. Highly talented project - could be Donte Green though....
Yeah, that's actually a name I keep forgetting and people keep reminding me about every draft. lol. If some of these guys have a good showing at the right time, well... there you go. I was wrong about Giddey, too. I saw that dude making good plays playin in Australia, but everything looked like it was in slow motion and lethargic. By that I mean the competition, not just him. I saw his "highlights" and most of them were just him passing the ball or scoring on average-looking plays. Shows you what I know about this stuff.
One lesson I learned, is don't be fooled by Australian league shooting percentages, as others have said it's a physical league and doesn't reflect the spacing they'll get in the NBA, especially for a 18-year-old who will get much stronger over time. These are Lamelo ball's percentages in the NBL, you would think he would be a bust shooting wise or be a project with a broken shot by using NBA standard thinking Not calling this kid Lamelo by any stretch, and I would need to know more about his defense (which looks solid so far) and mentality in interviews. But the skillset and size are there on film. Not signing off just yet without more info and knowing more about other choices. But to be honest, my first impression is you draft this kid after we get our second star big and let him develop at SF. Like Daniels, his key to success will be his outside shot development, but he seems to have the tools and just needs coaching and training for consistency.
So checking on his mentality, there are rumors he shies away from contact and maybe soft. Can anyone confirm if this is overblown since he's 18 and skinny or does he lack toughness as a trend over the years? That isn't good and may be why he's listed in the second round in some mocks, would still take a flier though.
I'm no expert- but I did give an early Giddey call based on his NBL play last year (ok, and even a Will Weaver report and prediction based on a chat with Brad Newley beside the road!) My take on Dieng is simple: project. But he has all the skills. For me I prefer to take a flyer with the BKN pick on someone like Dieng (even if it means trading back to the 2nd round). There are a few tall face up forwards who might be available in that range - I think length combined with skill is a useful commodity, and we already have a host of young players we are developing - why not take a flyer on one of these guys? Not saying I think Dieng is the pick, but the last 2-3 weeks will have raised his stock considerably
I thought he might be a mid-late 1st, but given his recent tear and the lack of superstar upside in this draft, I could see him in the lotto. The handles and off the dribble scoring at that height and age are sooo intriguing. A tall wing with deep range and a floater game is dangerous. Flashes of playmaking vision. Defense is..developing..to put it nicely. No intensity at times. Feet aren't active, and he gets pushed around, but able to make a few interesting weakside reads. 7 total blocks on the season. Hasn't really shown notable explosion/twitch and he shies away from contact, but NBA training could change that. Skill is the hardest to pick up and he has plenty. Needs physicality and mentality to develop.
Hopefully not! He's definitely a project, but I think he's much less of a gamble than Caboclo. Caboclo had the frame and athleticism, along with a workable jumpshot, but no handles or understanding of the game. His level of competition in Brazil was pretty low as well. Dieng already has NBA level skills and comes from a decent league.
This is a key takeaway for Dieng (and the NBL). The NBL has express intention of being a place 18 year olds can go to skip college and be scouted. They have a 'next' program which doesn't promise minutes, but has the classic Aussie sporting mentality of 'if you're good enough you'll play'. With a few players in recent years successfully jumping NBL to NBA, it is evident that the standard of competition provides a physical enough environment to make valid assessments about a players NBA potential.
Starting to get on the Dieng HYPE TRAIN. Negatives: -Soft ass French dude. Doesn't like contact and doesn't scrap for rebs and loose balls like Tate or Gary bird. He doesn't have that killer mindset, that mamba mentality that Giannis and Barnes have. -Broke shot. We have 2 prospects from NBL now both turned into good players but while Lamelo's shot has improved Giddey's J is still broken. I'm not a shot expert but videos I've seen say his has an unorthodox shot with bad shooting posture so he needs some shot doctoring help in the NBA. -Not a freak athlete. He can lead fast breaks but can't finish with authority since he isn't an athletic freak. Since he doesn't like contact he doesn't go hard at the rim either, most of the time his drive attempts will result in a jumper or a layup instead of a ferocious slam. You kinda want to see aggression in guys with broken jumpers and he doesn't have it RN. Positive: -He is YOUNG. 18 yrs old but already playing decently in the NBL I mean he is gonna translate like Giddey and Lamelo there's no doubt in my mind. He may not be an instant young stud like those guys but he'll def be a role player at the very least after a couple years of seasoning. If you are lucky he turns into an absolute star I mean he really only needs to fix that broke J of his and the world's his oyster if I'm gonna be honest. -Report are he just grew to 6'10. Being 6'10 compensates for a lot of his weaknesses like at that height at the SF spot he should be able to improve his shot % in the NBA as he matures, he can elevate over guys to get a clear view at the rim. It also helps him in terms of defense, rebounding and finishing at the rim even if he isn't that athletic or aggressive his height will allow him to compensate. -High Ball IQ with playmaking and ballhandling skills. He is a natural playmaker, at 18 yrs old you love to see him with a skill at an NBA level already. His playmaking and ballhandling coupled with his height means he won't be useless on the court, he can make plays when given the ball. -Ironically he reminds me a lot of Killian Hayes. Ok ok, so Hayes is a bust but that's cuz Hayes isn't 6'10. 6'10 Killian Hayes would be a much better player than 6'4 Killian Hayes. Summary: Call me crazy but I'm starting to like Dieng at 5. I mean ok I'd still rather have Mathurin but honestly you got to admit an 18 yr old 6'10 rookie point forward has got to be one of the highest ceilings in this class. Like people are talking about taking Sharpe at 5 why not Dieng? Both of them are unknowns but at least Dieng is 6'10, a year younger and has played in a league harder than the NCAA. If he had Mamba mentality I would have been ready to crown him the next Giannis/Barnes, but even as is I think he is top 10 material in this draft for sure.
