Ousmane Dieng sent down the NBA G-League

The Oklahoma City Thunder have sent Ousmane Dieng down to the NBA G-League, in a pre-planned visit to the OKC Blue Mark Daigneault announced following the team’s dominating win over the Houston Rockets.

Ousmane Dieng has responded to these NBA G-League stints well, improving after being with Kameron Woods and the OKC Blue each time. The Oklahoma City Thunder have tried to balance NBA time with G-League time for the 11th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have sent Ousmane Dieng back down to the NBA G-League to play with the OKC Blue; what does the team need to see in this stint?

Mark Daigneault has extensively discussed their project lottery pick, including being upfront about why the organization bounces him back and forth between the Thunder and Blue. Before Dieng’s wrist injury in December, the team recalled him to the NBA level to “get some miles on the car” for the lottery pick. Even on his return date, the bench boss told those of us in the media Dieng would eventually return to the Blue.

In the last game before his wrist injury, Ousmane Dieng helped lead the OKC Thunder to a road win over the Hawks by posting 15 points, five rebounds, an assist, and a steal while making 75 percent of his shots.

Ousmane Dieng stayed on the NBA roster post-injury for five games in which he averaged three points, nearly two rebounds, an assist, and half a blow per game while shooting 39 percent from the floor. The Thunder tried to find minutes for the project pick, and his one heavy workload in that five-game stretch was during a blowout win over the Rockets.

Now, the 6’10 wing returns to Kameron Woods’s squad with a lot to work on. In the NBA G-League, Dieng is averaging nearly 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists, a block, and almost a steal (0.7) per game while shooting 45 percent from the floor and 34 percent from deep.

In the NBA G-League, Ousmane Dieng has been challenged to play with more “offensive force,” just as 2022 second-round pick Jaylin Williams was in his stint with the Blue both Mark Daigneault and Kameron Woods told me this season. He achieved that in his last tenure, but now he must do it again and more.

Another area of Dieng’s game I will be watching closely is his ability to stick his nose in the game on both ends of the floor. Get physical, box out, and scrap with his 6’10, 185-pound frame.