For the next few days, the Memphis Grizzlies will be scrambling to find a trade for Gorgui Dieng. The 31-year old center has been lost behind a wave of young talent for the Grizzlies, not managing to receive any playing time in recent games.
In fact, despite being a pretty strong overall player, he has hardly seen any court time this year. We’ve seen more of the Grizzlies 2nd round rookie center in Xavier Tillman thus far.
In a deal that worked out for just about everyone, Dieng is the guy that drew the short end of the stick. Fortunately for him, it looks like he’ll have a new opportunity on the horizon and plenty of money in his bank account.
The Memphis Grizzlies are likely to buy out Gorgui Dieng’s contract
According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, if no trade is found, it’s entirely likely that Gorgui Dieng’s contract will be bought out around the NBA Trade Deadline. This will work out for everybody, as Dieng was rotting away on the bench when he should be contributing to a basketball team.
If a buyout happens, he will likely land on a team that is struggling with injuries or simply needs a little bit of extra talent as the playoffs approach. Two teams that have been rumored to be good landing places are the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets.
Wherever he lands, the team that he plays for will be getting really strong center. If not for a crowded Grizzlies roster, he could have been a strong contributor this year.
When he was receiving playing time, we saw him scoring 7.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 0.6 blocks per contest on under 22 minutes per game. He wasn’t a huge part of Taylor Jenkins’ game plans, but he proved that he can still be a strong contributor in the league.
In all likelihood, the Grizzlies will continue to push for a trade as long as they can, but may struggle to find anyone due to an unattractive contract. Look for him to be one of the best free agent centers and may find a home on a contending team looking for some power off of the bench.