Ousmane Dieng returns from injury, what is the plan for the lottery pick?

The Oklahoma City Thunder saw Ousmane Dieng return from a wrist injury over the weekend. Way back at NBA Summer League, the 11th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft suffered a wrist injury that caused him to miss the remainder of the Summer circuit but he was healthy enough to start the regular season.

Back in December, Ousmane Dieng suffered another wrist injury that was unrelated to his summer wrist injury. That held Dieng out six weeks before he made his return to the hardwood on Saturday.

Ousmane Dieng returned to the floor on Saturday for the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G-League in Texas to the tune of 20 points

The Oklahoma City Thunder invested three first-round picks into Ousmane Dieng, who showed a ton of flashes in the NBL a year ago, and they have seen that promise pop at times at the NBA level.

So far this season, Dieng is shooting 73 percent at the rim which ranks him in the 86th percentile though it is just on 15 attempts. In the last three games of Ousmane Dieng’s NBA season, he chipped in seven points, four rebounds, and a steal per game while shooting 68 percent from the floor and 62 attempts from three-point land on two attempts.

The last game he participated in before his injury was against the Atlanta Hawks way back on December 5th where he posted a career-high 15 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and dished out one assists to go along with a steal on the defensive end. From distance, Dieng went 3-for-4, and from the floor an effective 6-for-8.

Now, the project prospect is back in the fold for OKC, but how can they use him with such a crowded rotation for Mark Daigneault?