Minnesota Sports Forum

Considering minutes played, who do you think has been more valuable thus far?

Personally, I use three advanced metrics to gain a perspective of a player's contributions: PER, Win Shares and VORP.

PER: Dieng 12.5 KG 11.2 - Advantage Dieng
WS: Dieng 0.3, KG 0.3 - Push
VORP: Dieng 0.0, KG 0.1 - Advantage KG

My conclusion? They have been about the same. Neither have been big contributors through the first 11 games. And that probably makes sense since they are averaging about 16-18 minutes/game.

Meh.

I guess reality is setting in that Dieng is more of a back up center than starter material. Still not a bad acquisition for where we drafted him. I like that he can make contributions offensively and on the glass, but his D is definitely suspect.

Could anyone see Dieng at the 4, or KAT at the four with Dieng at the 5?
Would Dieng be better than Payne at the 4? I guess that's my question.

Dieng shows flashes of both good and bad, I expected more out of him and thought he could add more weight to his frame by now. He's a serviceable big man but will probably demand more than I'd be willing to pay for him in the 2017/18 season.

Both have contributed, but I would have to say KG clearly has made the biggest contribution. Carlos showed some stats that has them as a tossup (makes sense...Dieng offers more on offense, KG more on defense), but KG's contributions off the court puts him way ahead of Gorgui. Having KG on the team is like having another coach, and one that is almost as loud as Mitchell! Anyone who watched that first practice on NBA TV saw KGs incredible knowledge of NBA defense, and how he has worked to impart it to his teammates. The team's defensive metrics have improved considerably, and while the arrival of Towns and Prince have something to do with that, KG has been a big contributor too with his constant (and probably bordering on annoying) lecturing to his teammates. Gorgui, not so much.

I know it cant be measured, but I would take KG's influence in the huddles and locker room vs. what Dieng has given us. NOW, with that being said, KG has less than 100 games to play in his career yet and Dieng hopefully has 1000+.

I also feel Dieng is a big of a ball-stopper when he gets the ball. He has to pivot, jab step, or pump fake several times before shooting it or passing it. I know it is not analytics, but I dont like his flow on offense, nor his rotations and effort on defense. Solid back up, that is about it.

KG is doing whatever he is doing against starters and Dieng is a backup. I would take KG at this point. Until the last game Payne was looking like he was gonna take minutes from both. Lol