The Chicago Bulls essentially gifted the Milwaukee Bucks Ousmane Dieng at the NBA Trade Deadline, and that's been a big win for the Wisconsin crowd. Just a few games into his Bucks tenure, Dieng has Milwaukee fans dreaming big, given how strongly he's played. It's still early, but the Bulls might regret the decision to move on from him so quickly.
Dieng looks like a star in the making for the Milwaukee Bucks
Now, right off the bat, the Bulls did get a fine player in exchange for Dieng in Nick Richards. For a team that had little to no center depth at the time, getting one in Richards made sense. However, seeing the strides Dieng has made in just a handful of games with the Bucks, they likely would have preferred to acquire him instead.
This is particularly true since Dieng is six years younger than Richards. With the Bulls clearly still in a rebuilding phase, it would make sense to stack as much young talent as possible. While Richards isn't some over-the-hill veteran, Dieng is still far younger than him and much more likely to become a young building block.
In his three games since joining the Bulls, Richards has averaged 10.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. He's been a shot in the arm, without question, but his numbers do not compare to the production Dieng has registered early on.
Over his last two games, Dieng has averaged 18 points, seven boards, three assists, and two blocks while hitting 57.1 percent of his triple tries. In turn, the Bucks have won both games. Sure, it's a small sample size, but Dieng looks legitimate. For a team that has been starved of young contributors over the years, Dieng has given the fanbase something to cheer about.
He still has a lot of room to grow, but that's understandable. Again, he's just 22. The Bucks should aim to keep him around for the long haul and develop him. If he's putting up numbers like this in his first two games with a legitimate opportunity, what could he do with a big role in a few years? There's no telling what type of level Dieng could reach.
If Dieng does continue to develop into a major piece to Milwaukee's puzzle, the Bucks will have the Bulls to thank for disregarding him at the NBA Trade Deadline.
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