Phoenix Suns: Grading every player’s 2019-20 season
By Jono Perilli
Cheick Diallo
In his first season for the Suns, Cheick Diallo wasn’t able to gain enough momentum to produce quality games to guarantee his spot on the Suns roster next season.
After arriving from a three-year stint with the New Orleans Pelicans, Diallo was expected to man a reserve spot, but he would end up becoming their relied upon center because of all those injuries. He struggled to maintain consistency in his abundance of minutes, but he wasn’t completely useless.
In his limited time on the court, Diallo was fairly average, not providing a reliable impact for the Suns to even consider in the future. In a team that has overloaded with centers, Diallo doesn’t suit their plans, even though he’s only 23.
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In 44 games, Diallo averaged 4.8 points per game, while grabbing 2.8 rebounds per game. His numbers aren’t anything to go on about, in fact, these were career lows for the big man.
Touching back to the ‘He wasn’t completely useless’ comment, Diallo had some pretty great games on occasion. Diallo was able to score 22 points and 6 rebounds in a loss to the Denver Nuggets, and he was also able to throw up a 17-point double-double in another loss to the Wizards. Both games were also both from off-the-bench, not bad.
He didn’t stink up the court, he wasn’t all that terrible. The only out-lying issue comes from his future in this young squad. He sticks out from his big men counterparts, in his voice that he cannot stretch the floor in any circumstance, contrary to the Phoenix Suns formula of positionless shooting. Diallo possesses a decent back-to-basket presence, but it isn’t reliable enough to give a reason for his future with not only the Suns, but the league at large.