Gorgui Dieng: The upside in a veteran center for the Memphis Grizzlies

2. Scoring and Veteran Leadership

For all of his strengths defensively and his ability to rebound the ball, Gorgui at the very least has been an efficient scorer throughout his career in the NBA. As a background piece on almost every iteration of the Timberwolves offense he has been on, Gorgui has a career field goal percentage over 50% and a career 33% three point shooting mark.

He’s only ever averaged over 10 ppg once, but he has adapted to the new NBA well and is now shooting the 3 ball at a very efficient 38% clip, up from 17% his second season. His ability to simply mesh into the offense will be important, because no matter what role he plays in the team, he will never be the go to scorer on the court, and with his struggles this season being more than known, that is perfectly fine both for him and most certainly for the team.

As alluded to earlier, if not yet sold on Gorgui, the man’s leadership ability is invaluable. He has been given the NBA Community Assist Award for his continued donation and support to his home country of Senegal and beyond, and by all accounts from his teammates he has been nothing but an outstanding teammate both on and off the court. He is a former National Champion at Louisville, and a guy who even if his play wasn’t consistent, was always a pillar for the Minnesota Timberwolves. And for a young team, that is something Memphis surely cannot take for granted.