Thursday night, the final three games before the All-Star break for all 30 NBA teams were played. While LeBron recorded the oldest triple-double ever, the Giannis-less Milwaukee Bucks blew out the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Jrue Holiday had a season-high 31 against the Jazz, my biggest takeaway from a Pelicans perspective comes from Ousmane Dieng's performance for Milwaukee against his former team.
For those who need a reminder, the 11th pick in the 2022 NBA draft was traded by the Thunder to the Hornets, then from the Hornets to the Bulls, and finally from the Bulls to the Bucks. Dieng has been off to a very impressive start with the Bucks and is really reminding people why he was viewed as one of the biggest high upside swings in that 2022 draft class.
For the Pelicans, his start in Milwaukee is also a reminder of another missed opportunity at the trade deadline to acquire a player that fits the mold of player New Orleans is in desperate need of.
Another deadline regret already taking shape
In his second game for the Bucks (his first game with real minutes after logging 5 in his debut), Dieng scored 17 points and grabbed three rebounds, with 5 of his 6 made shots coming from beyond the arc, in just 23 minutes. He then followed that up with an even crazier stat line of 19 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and another 3 threes.Â
This type of elite shooting, paired with his 6-foot-9 frame and age at 22 years old make him the type of player that the Pelicans should have been focused on acquiring at the deadline.
New Orleans has struggled with floor spacing all season, making the fourth fewest three-pointers per game this season. On top of that, they are undersized in the front court with a pairing of 6-foot-6. Zion Williamson and 6-foot-9 rookie Derik Queen.Â
Bringing in Dieng would’ve helped those issues, and seeing how he was traded by three different teams during the deadline, that kind of movement suggests the asking price likely wasn’t steep.
When factoring in that he was drafted by Sam Presti, who has built a potential dynasty in the Thunder primarily through the draft. It’s not crazy to assume that he had a good chance of breaking out in his next situation.Â
Sure, it may be too early to assume that Dieng is on his way to fully break out as a full-time rotational piece in the NBA. But with the way he’s performed in his two games in which he got real burn with the Bucks, he appears to be on his way there. And for a Pelicans team that needs spacing, size, and players that are in the same timeline as Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, Dieng could’ve been a perfect buy-low player.