OKC Thunder mailbag: What does Ousmane Dieng's future look like?

USA Today

2 days ago

The calendar nears August, which means the NBA is in its driest part of the year. Rosters are mostly set as front offices head into vacations for the next couple of months before training camps start.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will enter the 2025-26 season with the hopes of being repeat NBA champions. They had one of the greatest seasons ever with a 68-14 regular-season record and captured the Larry O'Brien trophy.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren were all signed to new contract extensions this offseason. As the Thunder basically run it back with the same roster, Thunder Wire will conduct regular mailbags to answer questions that fans have.
One question being asked is about Ousmane Dieng's future. The 22-year-old has been the odd man out among the Thunder's historic 2022 draft class that bolstered their championship run. Being a long-term project and dealing with untimely injuries halted his development.
On an expiring $6.7 million salary, Dieng could soon be on the way out. Considering how deep the Thunder are, time has likely run out for him to make an impression. He's averaged 4.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 109 career games through three seasons. He's spent roughly equal time on the G League's OKC Blue, which has helped his development, but an NBA logjam has buried him on the depth chart.
We've seen this movie play out before. Odds are, Dieng will be moved. Either this offseason or at the trade deadline. He hasn't shown enough in three seasons to warrant a second deal, even with the caveat that we all understood the first two seasons were going to be spent as developmental years.
As the Thunder quickly ascended to the top of the league, Deing couldn't keep up. A fresh start could do him some good. From what he's shown at the Blue, he clearly has some ball-handling skills and is more of a rhythm scorer. Those types of possessions just aren't afforded to him in OKC. He's better suited to a rebuild situation that will give him room to grow. Instead of being stuck in an off-ball role because he has All-NBA teammates.
Now, what a Dieng trade looks like remains to be seen. The expiring salary is always a plus. That's a tool every front office looks for to conjure up trade ideas. His young age and inexperience should also help his market. Plenty of rebuilding front offices could convince themselves he's a new situation away from being a rotation wing.
Also important to mention that Dieng won't be the headliner in any deal he's included in. He'll be a nice flyer for another team and could be the final selling point for a trade, but won't be the main piece. The only real question is when he gets traded. The Thunder could hold onto him until the trade deadline to see if they need to make any roster improvements before the playoffs. They're in no rush to make a decision until then.
Either way, Dieng was worth the investment. The Thunder were in a rebuild at the time and didn't have anybody besides Gilgeous-Alexander whom they could pinpoint as a certified piece of their core. When you're in the infancy stages of a rebuild, taking a swing on a super young and raw prospect is always worth the gamble.