New Orleans second-year reserve forward Cheick Diallo grew up in the African nation of Mali, roughly 2,000 miles west of Joel Embiid’s hometown of Yaounde, Cameroon. Whether by coincidence or not, Diallo seemed to channel the entertaining and enthusiastic Philadelphia center this week when Diallo described his own development in the NBA.
“You just have to trust the process, man,” the newly-turned 21-year-old said. “Because that process is long. It cannot happen overnight. You have to keep working on your game. Last year I just came from college and was so excited to be drafted. But I didn’t even know what a team would expect me to do.