Adams, the giant young New Zealand centre, announced this week he was leaving the University of Pittsburgh after just one season and making himself available for the draft.
Not everyone has embraced the decision. Some feel Adams would be better served staying in school, to get a free education and develop his basketball. They wonder how long it will be before he can make an impact in the NBA.
But for Dickel, it was a no-brainer.
''If they're telling you you're good enough, you should go,'' the Nuggets talisman and former Tall Blacks point guard said yesterday.
''Steven can get in, work hard, and in two or three years from now, he will be a beast. I think he'll be a $50 million player.
''I think he's completely ready to go to the next step. He'll be out of his element at the start, but who isn't? It's hard to excel as a rookie in the NBA.''
Dickel, who played four years at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), was nearly drafted himself, but a nasty pre-draft accident in 2000 curtailed his NBA dream.
He does not believe this year's draft is particularly strong and believes Adams will be picked somewhere between 15th and 25th.
''Steven has been assured he will be taken somewhere in the first round. That's why he's leaving. Certain teams will have given guarantees that he will be picked.
''Once they see how athletic and skilled he is, he could move up even higher.
''He's got an unbelievable mentality, and he's incredibly competitive. And he has this amazing body. He's a great athlete, and he's co-ordinated. He's a Karl Malone type.''
Dickel had a spectacular college career, starting for most of his time at UNLV and leading the entire NCAA in assists his senior year.
Adams' numbers - he averaged seven points and six rebounds for Pitt - were not spectacular, but Dickel said they were effectively irrelevant.
''College stats don't really mean anything. It's actually more difficult to put up big numbers in college than in the NBA.
''It's so competitive. You go in as a young guy, and everybody is ready, and you're not. And the colleges want you to stay. They don't want to be promoting you to the NBA.
''I watched a lot of Steven's games and he really impressed me. People don't realise how hard it is to go over there and do what he did. He's young, he's only been playing four or five years.
''It's off the charts. The kid is a man-child and he is only going to get stronger and more athletic.''
