Will Gorgui Dieng replace Kevin Love at power forward?
By Wes Goldberg
Gorgui Dieng got off the slow start in his rookie season with the Minnesota Timberwolves but ended up impressing in extended minutes toward the end of last season. Dieng is a good defender and shot blocker, swatting 50 balls in 60 games last season.
Last season, he averaged nearly five points and five rebounds per game. Those numbers will improve now, without Kevin Love to gobble up the boards and the team needing to find scoring from every nook and cranny of the roster next season.
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But one thing Dieng is already better at than Love is defense. The Wolves could look to replace, not replicate, the valuable court spacing that Love brings with Dieng’s defense.
According to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, coach Flip Saunders will take a look at playing Dieng–a traditional center–at power forward in lineups where he can keep Nikola Pekovic at center for the interior offense.
Flip also indicated he'll take a look at Gorgui playing some 4 because he can defend guys out on the floor, and Pek can't
— Jerry Zgoda (@JerryZgoda) August 24, 2014
Of course, newly acquired Thaddeus Young will start at power forward and Anthony Bennet figures to back him up. Dieng comes in as the primary backup center, but Saunders’ indication that he will experiment with his front court rotations in a smart one. Dieng is an encouraging player who needs to see the court to continue in his development, and it seems Saunders will tinker with his rotations in order to get him playing time.