OKC Thunder Missing Piece Could Already Be In House Ahead of 2024 NBA Offseason

The Oklahoma City Thunder are looking to improve their roster after a 57-win season and one massive upgrade could come from within.

Oct 9, 2023; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Ousmane Dieng (13) during the game against the San Antonio Spurs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports / Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma City is looking to boost its roster heading into the 2024-25 NBA season where the expectations will be ratcheted up coming off a 57-win season that saw the Thunder become the youngest No. 1 seed of all time and falter in the second round to the eventual Western Conference Champions.

Before the Blue streamers hit the hardwood, Oklahoma City fans were clamoring for Sam Presti to go make a splash move to bolster the team and get over the hump after their first playoff run ended a bit too soon at the hands of one of the best team's in the NBA since the trade deadline.

As the days have passed, the emotions have not, nearly every talking head and observer of this organization is applying pressure on General Manager Sam Presti to go make a flashy transaction - for good reason, the Thunder have a talented core, top-five in the NBA cap space and a mountain of draft picks to sweeten any deal.

However, some of Oklahoma City's improvements have to come from within. Even at the top, there is still another level Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren can make as a big three. This trickles down to every member of the group.

One of the biggest examples of this is 2022 Lottery pick Ousmane Deing. When Oklahoma City selected Dieng with the No. 11 pick in the 2022 Draft, the Thunder understood he would be a project prospect.

Dieng is still just 21 years old following his second season in the NBA which was mainly spent parked in the G League where he lifted the OKC Blue to the G League Finals taking home Finals MVP en route to a championship.

As the varsity club stole headlines by rattling off their best season since 2015-16 racking up wins and getting out of the first round for the first time since the Obama administration, Dieng flew under the radar.

Not gaining NBA chances as he played in six fewer games and three fewer minutes a night despite being healthy as a sophomore and battling Wrist injuries as a first-year player, really saw Dieng play in the shadows - or the "invisible league," as Mark Daigneault calls it.

Given the success of the Thunder's rotation, the organization felt it was best to park the project wing with the Blue giving him a longer runway to develop as opposed to the herky-jerky nature of what his varsity role would be, including stretches of DNPs.

Behind the scenes, Dieng truly grew as a player during the 2023-24 season as Presti pointed out at his annual season-ending interview.

“I think the last couple months of the Blue season were huge for him,” Presti said. “Playing in those types of games, carrying that kind of responsibility. He also -- he cranked it up developmentally during the postseason for us where he was -- we flipped his summer program and got it going early because we thought he's going to be potentially playing for the national team so we need to get as much done with him as possible. But I was very pleased with how he ended the season. I was very pleased with how he ended the season.”

Oklahoma City understood the challenge and long-term plan they were taking on the moment they turned the draft card in with Dieng.

“Like every young player, he has so many things to work on,” Presti said. “When we drafted him, he was almost like a year young for that draft. We kind of knew that his timeline and his pathway would maybe be different, certainly from [Jalen Williams] because Dub was somebody coming in that we thought could get on the court sooner. But [Ousmane Dieng] has responded pretty well. I'm pleased with him. I think he's made some big strides here.”

The Thunder saw Dieng improve as a more physical player, initiating contact at the rim to finish, flashing as a play-finisher and continuing to refine his shot-creation on the offensive end. The aggression paid off to the tune of a career-high in dunks and converting at a 64 percent clip at the rim.

The former lottery pick spent time as an offensive engine producing a point per possession as an iso-scorer, navigating the pick-and-roll at a solid clip and feasting in cutting chances despite the Blue not rostering a true point guard.

In limited chances as a cutter and screener, Dieng really popped which will be more his role at the varsity level. However, the 21-year-old is still seeking a consistent stroke from beyond the arc, shooting 30 percent from 3-point land and 34 percent on catch-and-shoot chances.

Defensively, the willingness to mix it up down low has helped the 21-year-old not only on the glass but as a small ball five and putting pressure on ball handlers in space on the perimeter.

Should Dieng be able to improve his 3-point shot and have the rest of his game translate to the next level, he represents a 6-foot-11 wing checking in at 216 pounds continuously putting on size and slotting nearly perfectly into the front-court rotation for Daigneault's system.

While Presti and company still need to be aggressive this summer to capitalize on the start of a special window of opportunity for the Bricktown boys, Dieng could bring help from within for the Thunder.

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