With 20 games into the season, it seems the Oklahoma City Thunder could still find ways to improve with a minor tweak in their roster. That begins with Ousmane Dieng, who is in his fourth year with the defending champions but has yet to show massive improvement.

By now, you should know how the Thunder culture works. They invest in young talent. Usually, the gamble pays off – by a mile. We’ve seen the likes of Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins rise to prominence in the team. Even Ajay Mitchell is showing off this season. To be fair, not every gamble pays off, however.

OKC is good at developing its young players into dedicated performers on the big stage. That’s one of the big reasons why they are an elite defensive juggernaut as well. However, we also know that not everyone fits the bill – essentially one of the reasons why Josh Giddey was traded before the start of the previous season. However, it may be the same thing this time around for Dieng.

The Dieng Project Has Gone on Long Enough

Nothing is better than having a homegrown talent emerge and eventually become a pillar of the team. Dieng isn’t one of these players. Sure, he’s a homegrown talent, and OKC has sure been patient with him, developing him for four years now, but with little to less success at all.

Dieng has the length of a promising big man, the size of a potential center replacement, and the flexibility of a point forward. Think about a smaller version of Holmgren, Victor Wembanyama, Kristaps Porzingis, or even better – Kevin Durant. Yes, those are potential target points for the French forward, but he’s nowhere close to any of these players, other than their frames.

Dieng is currently averaging 3.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 11 minutes in 14 games. Sure, he’s mostly played garbage time with OKC, but his numbers became even worse than his first few years with the team. He was more efficient in his rookie year, and that was also the most games he’s played with them at 39.

If anything, this shows no improvement at all. That’s definitely a reason for OKC to move on from him at this point.

Should the Dieng Project End?

The only positive here is that Dieng is still young. At the age of 22, he’s nearly the same age as Wallace, Holmgren and Mitchell, and yet he’s played more basketball than any of these players mentioned. He’s even younger than upcoming rookies Thomas Sorber and Nikola Topic as well.

Being 22 means there’s essentially more room for improvement for Dieng. The Thunder roster is definitely stacked with a lot of talent. They’re so good that not a lot of players get to show their full potential as well. We’ve seen this with Giddey thriving in Chicago, Tre Mann being a bigger shot in Charlotte and even Vit Krejci being a reliable player for Atlanta.

These are former names for OKC who didn’t get a chance to show off their full potential in the squad, but made some noise when they played for other teams. In a sense, these players found their groove when they moved on from Oklahoma City. With Dieng not being able to get a bigger break with the champs, it stands to be a good idea for both sides to have him shipped to another team.

Think about it. Dieng plays a few more games up until February, which is essentially the time when OKC would be considering trading him. However, it would also mean that his value on the market would increase depending on his performance. If anything, that means the Thunder could package him for a few picks or even cash considerations.

What’s Practical for OKC?

The Thunder are a team that’s gunning for a repeat championship. Most likely, they’ll be setting their eyes on a dynasty as well. So, this means roster consistency and longevity is key. Knowing how much of a genius OKC GM Sam Presti has been, it’s no denying that Dieng is likely coming in hot.

Whether they would get picks for him is not really a big deal. OKC has three potential lottery picks in the next offseason. Clearing some roster spots would be ideal now more than ever. Dieng is not going to walk away and leave the Thunder empty-handed, so it’s either a trade will come, or the forward will bloom into a key piece for OKC in the long run.