Goals For Gorgui Dieng Next Season

2. Develop a Role for Himself

One thing we can say about Gorgui Dieng is that he is a productive player. But one thing we can’t say, and what everyone has to figure out, including himself, is what kind of player is he?

He needs a role. Is he going to be a stretch four/five like Marreese Speights, who just comes off the bench to give you points and shooting, spreading the floor to open up the paint? Is he going to a banging, rebounding, paint protector like Tristan Thompson, who is there to clean up misses off the glass, block shots, take charges, bang down low and defend the opposing team’s best big man so Towns won’t have to, not risking getting into foul trouble and giving him the energy to work on the offensive end? Or he is going to channel his inner Serge Ibaka and become the ultimate 3-D defensive big man.

Dieng has the ability to do so, with his soft shooting touch, his above average rim protection and defense, his length and athleticism. His best bet is to mold into that 3-and-D big man which is something that is very common but needed in today’s NBA.

Usually, big men who can shoot threes are not the best defenders or just choose not to play defense in the paint. But big men like Dieng, Ibaka, Draymond Green, Brook Lopez, Kristaps Porzingis, Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis and even our very own Karl-Anthony Towns are some of elite, exclusive big men who possess the rare skill of being able to shoot threes and being able to defend the rim.