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Poku is 7 feet tall, has a plus wingspan, passes like he thinks he's John Wall, and generated stocks like a madman.
Dieng is shorter, has a shorter wingspan, is an okay-but-unimaginative passer, and doesn't get blocks or steals or really do anything on defense much at all.
With Poku, the questions were ''can his body get more robust?'' and ''can he rein in his wilder tendencies and play with more consistency and control?''.
With Dieng, the questions are ''will he figure out how to do about seven different things from scratch?''.
Now, again, it's not like I don't think Dieng is draftable. Sure he is. I just don't like him at #8, where there will almost certainly be guys I am more optimistic about left available. If you're drafting at #11 instead of #8 and all of those names are gone, then Dieng is fine - but we're not.
Ok but stocks in the league Poku played in, lets be real. The questions with him werent only, can he add strength. It was, can he compete against non-plumbers.
It seems like Dieng is well on his way to having similar measurables to Poku, if rumors are true. Dieng was in one of the hardest leagues in basketball outside of the NBA, and one in which multiple successful NBA players struggled in.
My top 12:
1) Chet
2) Paolo
3) Ivey
4) Jabari
5) Griffin
6) Duren
7) Sharpe
8) Daniels
9) Tari
10) Sochan
11) Murray
12) Mathurin
Dieng comes in the next group directly after which is shared by people like Jalen Williams, Jonny Davis, Blake Wesley, Jake LaRavia, and Malaki Branham.
So if we take Dieng and Duren, Tari, Sochan, etc, are all still on the board I'll be a touch disappointed. Not mad, because it's not like I hate Dieng, but I will see it as a missed opportunity.
Biggest disagreement is Duren, but purely because of position value. To me, I cant use a top 10 pick on a big unless I think he could be Bam or better. I definitely see the impact of a Looney or Robert Williams, etc. but that level of big is available in FA, trades, late 1st/early 2nd, etc. Top 10 pick, I need Bam or better. Do you think he can get to Bam level (or close)?
I think I landed at:
1. Chet
2. Paolo
3. Sharpe
4. Ivey
5. Smith
6. Daniels
7. Murray
8. Mathurin
9. Sochan
10. Dieng
11. Griffin
12. Branham
Generally I agree with the scepticism towards bigs, but I think Duren is helped somewhat by the weakness of this draft.
I think Bam is a little bit of a top level outcome for him, which is therefore possible but somewhat unlikely. But I do think he can be a legitimate starting quality C with upside to be one of those top 10 Cs eventually. He's one of the youngest guys in the draft and he's built like a tank, 7'5 wingspan, dominant college level production. He's switchable, and has shown some real craft as a passer both in terms of the post and the short roll but also in transition in some limited opportunities - he's one of those bigs who will throw lobs to other bigs, which is always a sign.
I also think his good touch means that even if he's never a shooter, he won't be totally useless outside of the restricted area as a scorer.
Top shelf rebounder and rim protector.
The way I see it is that this draft is relatively weak in terms of top end talent. If someone told you Jarrett Allen was going to be in this draft, and you knew that he would become Jarrett Allen, would that be worth a top 10 pick in this draft? I definitely think so, and I think Duren could have it in him to be that tier of C without assuming too much of his growth curve, which makes him worth that top 10 pick in this draft.
Edit: I also think opportunity matters in terms of realistic development. As we've discussed, a ballhandler might find their progress stymied but if we trade Jaxson (as I think we should at this point) we'll be in need of a real backup C anyway and therefore Duren would find plenty of minutes for development in that backup role.
That's not the same as drafting for need, but I just think it's serendipitous.
Last edited by Pelicanidae; 06-23-2022 at 04:16 PM.
Yeah, I dont think I would take Jarrett Allen. Because it takes them years to become Jarrett Allen, and then once they do, you gotta give them 100 mil. I wouldnt sign up for that. I also dont think Allen would have a ton of trade value. The issue with non shooting centers is that they are always worth less in the market than they are in a vacuum, since so few teams need one. Or better yet, are willing to give up value at another position to get one.
I like Allen as a regular season contrinutor. I believe that if he got into the playoffs, you would see he contributes like a 10 million dollar player making 20+ mil. Id always rather just go center by committee, with 2 or 3 bigs making that money combined, all of whom have different strengths, so I can adjust depending on the matchup.
Long story short, current Jarrett Allen is better than 2018 Joe Ingles. But give me Ingles every single time when I am building a team
Thank you
Dieng isn't a good shooter though, idk why some people keep repeating that misinfo. He's not a good defender either. He says away from contact like Lonzo did. Hard to be a good defender when you try to avoid contact. He's no explosive, not strong, not crafty. He is a tall/long guy with good handles for his size. That's all he is right now. Everything else is a projection for what he could be down the road.
Absolutely agree. His biggest selling point in terms of what he can do right now is his pick and roll ball handling and creation, but he's actually kind of stiff in the lower body and doesn't get great angles on the ball.
That doesn't mean I think he's terrible - if I did, I wouldn't still have him in the top 15 - but he's a massive project. He's not great at anything right now. If you buy that he can put it all together and unlock the potential of his frame and height/length then that's fine but people tend to discuss him like he's got polished skills and he doesn't.
Very true, but with pretty much everyone else projected to go in the lottery, I can point to atleast 1-2 things that they're good-very good at right now, so I atleast know something will translate. I see none of that with Dieng. Literally not one skill I can say he's good at right now. And his propensity to shy away from contact is the biggest red flag for me. Having all that size doesn't mean squat, if you don't use it.
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