Nate Ament is among the prospects linked to the Milwaukee Bucks leading up to the NBA Draft, with the team clearly intrigued by his potential. With Giannis Antetokounmpo's future up in the air, it looks like the Bucks might want to begin their next era with a project player. If that is the case, they might as well work on Ousmane Dieng over the highly risky Ament, as the two share similar characteristics.
Bucks need to invest in Dieng
What do the Bucks see in Ament? They likely see a 6-foot-10 forward who has shown glimpses of star potential with his scoring and excellent rebounding. You know who else has shown flashes like that? Ousmane Dieng. After joining the Milwaukee Bucks via trade last season, Dieng showed off potential that had been buried on the OKC Thunder's bench for years.
In 30 games, including 20 starts, with the Bucks this past season, Dieng averaged 11 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. Sure, those are life-changing numbers, but it was far more productive than what he'd been given an opportunity to showcase in the past. With sweet 3-point shooting, tenacious rebounding, and pristine passing, Dieng, still just 23, is worth exploring further.
Re-signing the soon-to-be-restricted free agent forward should be among the first orders of business this summer, regardless of what happens with Giannis Antetokounmpo soon here.
Bucks could look to stack projects
In a world without Giannis, the Milwaukee Bucks might want to add as many home run swings as they possibly can. If contending is out of the picture, they might as well go boom or bust. Perhaps the idea of adding Ament while keeping Dieng is desirable to them, giving them two potential-filled forwards who could aim to bring the best out of each other.
It could also end up being a situation where one of them gets prioritized while the other struggles to get on the floor and doesn't last with the team for long at all. That is typically what has happened with many of Milwaukee's young projects over the years. Sure, perhaps the arrival of player development professional Taylor Jenkins could change that, but actions speak louder than words.
Milwaukee's interest in drafting Ament is worrisome because they would be burning arguably their most valuable asset on him. Dieng, meanwhile, has the same type of potential but cost the team very little at this past trade deadline. Re-signing Dieng and going after whatever lead guard is still on the board at 10 would be a far safer approach for the Bucks.
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