A few minutes ago on ESPN, Chad Ford on the most overrated player in the draft:
Gorgui Dieng. He rode Louisville's great NCAA championship game into the first round, maybe the lottery. He's old and still pretty raw offensively. He has high bust potential.
I could not agree more. Why people on this site want this guy is beyond me. He is basically Fab Melo again. So why pick up the same guy at 16 when we got him at 22 last year. The obsession with centers has got to stop. I still think that if we stay at 16 the best pick would be either a point or shooting guard. Jamaal Franklin would be a brilliant pick at 16 if you ask me. He can do everything, guard 3 positions and has a crazy motor. Perfect for Boton
I admit that I've been intrigued with Dieng, but I'm no expert. I certainly don't want another project (don't even really want the one we have). I will add, though, that my obsession with centers is unlikely to end anytime soon. I realize that good bigs are hard to come by, but this Boston team has got to get bigger, tougher, and meaner inside. HAS to. Whether that's through the draft, trades, or free agency, I don't care, but an old KG and an undersized Bass and Sully won't get the job done often enough.
Dieng isnt a projects. He can come in and play right away.
Guys like Steven Adams and Rudy Gobert are projects.
Agreed.
And I totally don't understand the OP's comparison with Fab. Totally different players (other than the fact that both are tall and both will primarily be defensive players). Dieng in no way is "basically Fab Melo again".
Fab came out very raw, having only played less than two seasons (63 total games) of college ball, in a totally different defensive system (zone). He also projects to be more of a low-post defender.
Dieng has 3 full years (102 games) of development under a coach who teaches more of a pro-style defense. That extra time and the style difference are huge. Further, Dieng projects to be more of a high-paint defender who can move quickly in and out between the paint and the perimeter, who can disrupt passing lanes and hedge the P&R.
Dieng's P&R defense is already way ahead of almost every other big man in this draft and, really, ahead of most of the big men who came out of LAST year's draft.
The whole mythology that has started to develop around 'upside' versus years in school is becoming the true 'problem obsession'.
Big men who come out as freshmen routinely take 2 or 3 years (or more) to become effective in the NBA anyway.
And more and more, the rotations minutes of the NBA's elite teams are being dominated by players well over 28 and into their 30s. Whether a rookie is 21 or 23 is kinda a ridiculous thing to get fixated on.
