The Minnesota Timberwolves have a lack of glue players — guys that can come in and play solid basketball on both ends of the court and do much of the dirty work. Going into the 2020 NBA Draft, one of their top priorities should be to find some of those players.
Mamadi Diakite is an interesting big man prospect for the Minnesota Timberwolves that brings an energetic defensive-minded presence to the floor. At 6-foot-9, 230 pounds, Diakite is a good defender in space (both along the perimeter and in the post) and can stretch the floor in a limited capacity.
While Diakite is an older prospect (fifth year senior), he is a high-floor, low-risk player that, while he won’t grow much in terms of what he can bring to your team, should still be a rotational player in the NBA.
Diakite was especially impressive defending the rim for a top-ranked Virginia defense in college. While he did not necessarily put up elite numbers (seven rebounds, one block per game during his senior year), he raised the floor of a defense that was incredibly suffocating.
In terms of what he brings offensively, Diakite, again, was a good shooter for his size (36% on three-pointers on two attempts per game). He was good in the post as well, but did struggle in terms of passing and creating his own shot in space.
Fit on the Timberwolves
Mamadi Diakite would be a really good fit on the Minnesota Timberwolves. He could play seamlessly alongside Karl-Anthony Towns due to his defensive prowess and long-range ability offensively. While he isn’t very mobile and needs to improve on his passing ability, he would very likely fill the role of a stretch-big coming off of the bench.
Diakite has played alongside NBA talent before at Virginia (most notably DeAndre Hunter and Ty Jerome), but being the roll-man to a guard such as D’Angelo Russell could greatly enhance Diakite’s ability to affect games.
The Minnesota Timberwolves should take a safe bet in the second-round of the NBA draft, and Mamadi Diakite is certainly that. Whether they will select a player currently projected to be either a late second-round pick or an undrafted free agent remains to be seen. However, Diakite is very likely going to at least earn a contract for an NBA team at some point. Allowing him to battle with Naz Reid and Omari Spellman for a bench role this coming season could only benefit both parties.