The Oklahoma City Thunder easily defeated the visiting Boston Celtics, 105-92, in what could have been a preview of the NBA Finals. The Celtics fell to 26-10, while the Thunder advanced to 30-5. According to Clemente Almanza of Thunder Wire, the Thunder made a few roster changes on two young players right after the significant victory.
Ousmane Dieng and Dillon Jones were assigned to the Oklahoma City Blue in the G League as part of the Thunder’s most recent roster changes. This following week, the Blue will travel to play the Austin Spurs and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
When it comes to nurturing young talent and leveraging the G League to support that development, the Thunder have been among the NBA’s top companies. Young players like Dieng and Jones don’t get much playing time because the squad is in win-now mode and trying to compete for a championship. Neither player participated in the Celtics game.
Thunder is cultivating young athletes.
Given the Thunder’s history of spotting and nurturing young talent, Dieng and Jones are both players .
Jones appears to be a player for the Thunder in the future, but Dieng might be a trade candidate because he hasn’t been given much playing time. After recovering from a finger injury earlier in the season, he is ready to see a lot of action in the G League.
Dieng, who was last season’s G League Finals MVP, has only played in two games for the Blue, one during the showcase and one during the regular season due to injury. Jones has played in 26 games as a rookie, but he hasn’t had much of an impact either. He has only played in about ten minutes per game, averaging 2.9 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting less than 40 percent from the field.
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