Summary
Bates-Diop could provide value as a stretch big, but he just hasn't hit enough shots to play that role adequately. He has only hit 33% from three, and his 40% that he shot in '22-'23 was probably an outlier. If he simply continues to shoot at his career rate, it's hard to see how he becomes a regular rotational player for a good team. After struggling from the free throw line earlier in his career, he has improved significantly in recent seasons, which gives more promise regarding his touch. However, that regressed a bit in '23-'24 along with his overall shooting.

Bates-Diop gave the Spurs some decent minutes over the last couple seasons, even starting some games, but those minutes mostly came when the Spurs were short-handed or in tank mode. He was a fairly regular part of the Suns rotation early in '23-'24, but fell out of favor a bit and was traded to Brooklyn at the trade deadline.

Bates-Diop has decent feel for the game in regards to not turning the ball over and making the right plays, but he's not a playmaker off the bounce. He also has some touch inside, although his shooting percentage from floater range is poor. He's also a little undersized to play center at 6'9", and doesn't provide any rim protection, so he can really only play the four. His game is similar to an early career Trey Lyles, but Lyles has always been a better shooter and has developed his off-the-dribble game slightly more than Bates-Diop has.

Bates-Diop is already 28, so he's no longer a young prospect. He has shown enough to continue to get chances, but hasn't quite proven he should stick around in the league for a while. 
 
Cap Considerations
Bates-Diop has a $2.7 million player option for next season, and if he declines that option he will be an unrestricted free agent with a $2.1 million cap hold and Non-Bird Rights.

Due to the increase in the salary cap not being very high, his minimum salary for '24-'25 as a free agent is less more than his player option amount, so he should opt in for financial purposes if he thinks he can only get minimum offers elsewhere. The difference is minimal enough though that opting out and signing a minimum contract elsewhere is reasonable if he no longer wants to be in Brooklyn.

If Bates-Diop opts for free agency, the Nets will be somewhat limited in their means of re-signing him. Since they will only have his Non-Bird Rights, the most they could offer him using the Non-Bird Exception is a contract starting at $3.2 million. However, they could use their MLE to re-sign him if he demands more than $3.2 million

Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Bates-Diop as even teams without cap space could likely use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. Since he signed a minimum contract in 2023, teams will hope to get him at the minimum in 2024 too.