National Basketball Association

Minnesota Timberwolves: The Forgotten Timberwolf, Gorgui Dieng

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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leThe Minnesota Timberwolves have a plethora of young talent, but there’s one player that often gets overlooked. We introduce you to Gorgui Dieng

When listing off the prospects on the Minnesota Timberwolves, everyone loves to talk about the big names: Karl Anthony-Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn. Yet, they seem to forget about the other young and intriguing prospect on the team, and that’s Gorgui Dieng.

The 6-foot-11 Senegalese big man continues to fly under the radar. Seen as a backup to KAT, Gorgui started to show last season that he should be the power forward of the future for Minnesota.

Although his fit alongside KAT seems like an odd pairing, it does work and that’s because of Dieng’s ability to hit shots from the outside.

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Last year, he started to show off his expanding offensive arsenal, as he made 43.4 percent of his midrange attempts from beyond 16 feet. And on three-point attempts, he made a career high 30 percent from behind the arc; 38.5 percent from both corner three-point locations.

But it isn’t just Dieng’s offense that allows him to play alongside KAT. On the defensive end of the floor, Gorgui has become one of the Timberwolves’ most reliable players. That’s why his defensive rating of 105.8 points allowed per 100 possessions was tied for second on the team (of rotation players).

With the ability to protect the rim, and switch out onto smaller and quicker guards/forwards, Gorgui’s defensive versatility allows him to play either the 4 or 5. But because he has trouble guarding the stronger 5’s in the NBA, the 4 spot should be Gorgui Dieng’s position of the future.

Only 47 percent of his minutes came at the 5, while 53 percent of his minutes came at the 4. And it’s no surprise that he had a career year while playing most of his minutes at the power forward position. His PER of 17.1 was third on the team, and his 5.9 win shares were second.

Now with a year of playing together under their belts, KAT and Dieng understand where they both need to be, in order to have success.

Last year was a feeling out process, now it’s about winning games. That’s were Gorgui Dieng is going to be relied on to produce. And if he can do just that, the Minnesota Timberwolves might have just found their power forward of the future.

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