The Milwaukee Bucks have a ton of important decisions to make about their roster this summer. Under new head coach Taylor Jenkins, the Bucks are starting a new era, likely without Giannis Antetokounmpo. The roster will look very different once Antetokounmpo is traded, but that is not the only big decision Milwaukee has to make. There are a couple of team options and free agency decisions the Bucks can't afford to fumble.
One of those is Ousmane Dieng's free agency. The 23-year-old will hit the open market this summer after his brief stint in Milwaukee. Regardless of what the rest of the roster looks like next season, the Bucks have to bring him back.
Bucks have to give a real chance to Ousmane Dieng
Dieng arrived in Milwaukee at the trade deadline after his 3.5-year tenure with the OKC Thunder came to an end. The French forward ended up starting 20 games for the Bucks down the stretch and played a much bigger role than he ever had in his career. It was certainly not a perfect stint for Dieng, but he showed enough flashes to make this a no-brainer decision for the Bucks.
The former 11th-overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft hasn't been able to meet expectations so far in his career. He showed an intriguing combination of size, mobility, athleticism, shooting, and playmaking at times, but he couldn't put it together consistently. He was squeezed out of the rotation in the very deep and talented OKC roster.
The Bucks, however, will have the studio space to offer Dieng. He needs developmental reps, and the Bucks can give them to him. Dieng's physical and athletic tools are still promising enough to warrant more opportunities.
In his tenure in Milwaukee, Dieng had his ups and downs. His shot wasn't falling at a high level, but he had a couple of monster games, including a 36-point, seven-rebound, ten-assist outing against the Rockets. Dieng's stats as a Buck weren't particularly eye-popping, but he is a very valuable modern archetype.
Six-foot-nine players who move well, can guard multiple positions, handle the ball, and shoot are very rare to find. Sure, this skillset is more theoretical for Dieng, and he has to find a way to apply it to the court. But the fully actualized version of Dieng is an excellent two-way role player, and the Bucks can't pass up on that without giving him a real shot.
It's not like there is going to be a bidding war for Dieng. Sure, there may be a couple of teams willing to take a flier on Dieng, but this simply can't extend far beyond a minimum deal. Even if there are interested teams going up to $5-6 million a year and a rotation role for Dieng, the Bucks would be wise to beat those offers.
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