Cheick Diallo
Ah, Cheick Diallo. I want so bad for this young man to succeed. The story about his basketball journey is a fascinating one, and one most people should cheer for.
No one thought he was going to march into town and dominate. He was always expected to be a deep bench, defensive-minded specialist. Throughout this season, he showed some signs of potential, however, in the end, he turned out how most people predicted: an end-of-the-bench big man who blocked a few shots and grabbed a few boards when needed.
He did drill a corner 3 on an out-of-bounds play called for him once, so that was cool.
Diallo has a team option of $1.8 million and while that is right at the minimum, there is likely another minimum player out there who can fill that void of deep-bench, hype-guy with a higher ceiling.
I wish him the best, but if I’m James Jones, I choose not to pick up his option for the 2020-2021 season.
There will undoubtedly be a fair share of roster moves this offseason with trades, free-agent pickups, and maybe (although hopefully not) a draft pick. Jones will have to make room on the roster somehow, and Suns fans wait with all-too-familiar hope that he makes the right moves.