The OKC Thunder have had quite a busy week after winning the 2025 NBA Finals.
On Wednesday night, they snatched up arguably the biggest steal of this year's draft, Thomas Sorber. Sunday, they signed both Jaylin Williams and Ajay Mitchell to longer-term contract extensions.
Along the way, Oklahoma City managed to make extra room on the roster for their new draft selections with the Dillon Jones trade this past Saturday.
Now, while these moves certainly deserve admiration and the respect from the fanbase, in an odd sense, perhaps the most conspicuous takeaway from the Thunder's action-packed weekend is that Ousmane Dieng has once again found a way to survive yet another purge.
Ousmane Dieng survives yet another Thunder trade decision
Last summer, it was the deal that shipped Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls. This year, it was 2024 first-rounder Dillon Jones being sent to the Washington Wizards.
And while both contributed more and showed higher potential in comparison, it's Dieng who still finds himself residing in the Sooner State.
Of course, the forward does still have the allure of being just 22 years old and three years removed from being selected 11 overall in the NBA Draft, but since coming into the league back in 2022, the Frenchman has done nothing but underwhelm.
In 109 games played with the varsity team, Dieng has posted averages of 4.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists while shooting 42.4 percent from the floor and 29.3 percent from deep.
His time spent down with their development team, the OKC Blue, has certainly seen more impressive production and on-court showings from the youngster, as he's averaging 17.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists on 47.2 percent shooting over 42 total games and even has an NBA G League Finals MVP attached to his name.
However, considering how they've been in a win-now mode throughout the vast majority of his tenure with the team, he has not been given the proper run with the Thunder to help hone his craft in the big leagues.
Because of this, over the last few years, many have believed that the most logical course of action would be to move Ousmane Dieng to a rebuilding team with ample minutes available and a desire to develop young talent.
Frankly, a team like the Wizards would have been perfect.
As of this writing, however, the forward still finds himself under Thunder control heading into his fourth and final year of his rookie-scale contract.