Will Ousmane Dieng be the Cavs’ pick at #14 in 2022 NBA Draft?
French Ousmane Dieng is one of the top international prospects in the 2022 NBA Draft, making a buzz across the league, and especially with the Cavs.
NBA teams across the league are keeping a close eye on players as the 2022 NBA Draft quickly approaches.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, specifically, are hitting the headlines due to one prominent name circling out there: Ousmane Dieng.
According to a few recent mock drafts, rival teams have pointed to the French national as a player the Cavaliers are “very high” on.
“Ousmane Dieng is another prospect rival teams point to as someone the Cavs are very high on, but is already off the board in this scenario,” Jonathan Givony wrote in a recent mock draft.
At only 19 years old, Dieng played last season with the New Zealand Breakers and has continued to make noise since. At the Australian NBL last season, Dieng demonstrated a lot of potential, defending several positions and emphasizing great speed. The 6-foot-7 averaged 8.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in just 20.3 minutes per game.
Related: How many rounds are there in the NBA draft? How many players are selected?
Are the Cavs ready for a bigger swing?
The Cleveland Cavaliers currently have the No. 14 overall pick in the upcoming draft and have shown interest in bringing in young international talent. They already have a few young stars in Cleveland so bringing in a bigger swing would echo the next steps the team is trying to build.
Keeping that in mind, Dieng is getting a lot of attention, especially for teams that will be drafting somewhere in the back end of the lottery. And like Givony wrote, Dieng might not even be available for Cleveland to select with the 14th pick. However, acquiring him could mean that this is the last time in a while the Cavs expect to be in the lottery.