Taking advantage of injuries to the Hornets and thanks to unfailing energy, Moussa Diabaté found a place in Charlotte at the start of the season. Better still, he is one of the revelations and represents one of the great French stories in the NBA. But what is his future with the Frelons with the return of the two pivots Nick Richards and Mark Williams?
9 minutes and 37 seconds.
It was Moussa Diabaté's playing time last night against the Sixers. It had been a month since the French interior had gone below 10 minutes in a match. A month during which he revealed himself within the Hornets, averaging almost 11 rebounds in 27 minutes, including 5.3 offensive rebounds!
The explanation? Above all, it is the return of Nick Richards and Mark Williams. These two were the first two centers of the Hornets' rotation at the start of the season, and they are just coming out of the infirmary. The first played 30 minutes for his second match since his return from injury, while the second was entitled to 9 minutes for his comeback.
We loved Moussa Diabate.
Return of Mark Williams and Nick Richards shortly, I don't know how the Hornets will play on their pivot rotation but what fun we had watching Moussa at the start of the NBA season.
One of the very beautiful tricolor stories ❤️????????
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) https://twitter.com/TrashTalk_fr/status/1864097180157374628?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
So, what does this mean for Moussa Diabaté? Is he destined to have very little playing time from now on? Or is there still a real place in the rotation for him?
Charlotte's next matches will give us more concrete answers regarding the role of the Frenchie among the Frelons. Diabaté showed that he could be a formidable energizer for the Hornets, a player who could influence a match by scoring… 0 points (nice tribute to Dennis Rodman) thanks to his enormous activity, rebounding and defense. These are qualities that can serve any team, at any time, no matter the circumstances.
“Since I got (to Charlotte), I was solid at what I was doing, they (the Hornets) saw what I was doing. From the first match of the season, I was already starting to play a little. It's not like I came and was able to play because the guys got injured all of a sudden. I was already positioned to play, I didn’t know for how long but I knew I was going to play a little.”
– Moussa Diabaté, at the microphone of beIN Sports.
In the Hornets' reconstruction plan, young pivot Mark Williams – 15th choice in the 2022 Draft – is logically one of the priorities. When he is not injured, which is quite rare it must be admitted, Williams has shown that he can be a solid young interior player in the NBA (13 points, 10 rebounds on average last year). As for Nick Richards, he is probably the Hornets' best option at position 5 currently, but not sure he will finish the season in Charlotte. The 27-year-old interior, whose contribution is underestimated, should interest people at the NBA Trade Deadline, and the Hornets could part with him in the event of a good consideration.
In such a context, Moussa Diabaté wants to continue to “optimize” every minute, every opportunity. The long-term objective: to move from a two-way contract to a standard contract, and to become a lasting part of the Charlotte franchise project.
Declaration source: beIN Sports
