MILWAUKEE – As depleted as New Orleans has been in its backcourt due to injuries and the absence of starting point guard Jrue Holiday, the Pelicans are pretty much at full strength at the two big positions, power forward and center. Since you can pencil in Anthony Davis for about 37 minutes a night at the “four” spot, it has left about 50 minutes for an array of options, including periodic starters Dante Cunningham, Omer Asik and Terrence Jones. Long story short, that’s why rookie second-round pick Cheick Diallo has rarely seen an NBA floor over the first two weeks of the regular season – and why he’s been assigned today to the D-League’s Austin Spurs.
“He’ll have an opportunity to play minutes, and to me, right now that’s what he needs to be doing,” Pelicans Coach Alvin Gentry said prior to Thursday’s game in Wisconsin. “He needs to be out on the floor, playing and learning a lot about the league. I think you can get some valuable time in the D-League and that’s why we sent him down there.”
The Pelicans’ front office has some connections to the Austin D-League franchise, including that GM Dell Demps once worked there. That factored into the decision to assign Diallo to Texas’ capital city.
“We have a guy with him down there,” Gentry said. “Obviously we’ll have guys go see him, go to practice and things like that. We also know those people there, and that’s why we chose to put him there.”
After spending one season at Kansas and only coming to the United States from the African nation of Mali when he was 16 years old, Diallo is one of the NBA’s least experienced players. Getting court time and reps against other professional players should be a very valuable learning experience for the 20-year-old. During preseason and the early stage of the regular season, Diallo had often been spotted putting in full workouts prior to tip-off, as some players do who aren’t expected to play extensively in that night’s game. Gentry has often praised Diallo’s work ethic and willingness to be coached, as he tries to improve.
“He couldn’t work any harder,” Gentry said. “He couldn’t be any more conscientious than he is. His problem is he just hasn’t had the experience of being out on the floor and playing. We felt like going down to Austin and play minutes and be in games, and try to get a feel and an understanding of the pro game in general, is what he needs to do right now.”