Moussa Diabate Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Suggs, Middleton, Smart, Williams, Young

February 19th, 2025 at 9:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

The left quad contusion that sidelined Magic guard Jalen Suggs before the All-Star break hasn’t healed enough for him to resume playing, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Suggs has been declared out for Thursday’s contest at Atlanta, making it the 10th straight game he’ll miss and the 20th of the last 21. He was limited to the non-contact portions of practice the last two days, Beede adds.

“Everybody responds to treatment, everybody responds to different injuries differently [and] everybody’s different,” coach Jamahl Mosley said. “And so, you want to treat it as such, and not rush a process of getting him fully whole just to squeak back in to not be 100% on the court because he’s trying to push through certain things. It’s so important that we get him back fully healthy where there is no nagging pain as we go through it.”

The Magic are counting on Suggs’ return to help end a long spiral that has seen them fall to seventh place in the East at 27-29. They’re 6-14 in their last 20 games and haven’t won two in a row since late December. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner both returned from extended injury absences over the past six weeks, but Orlando is clearly missing the all-around production of Suggs, who’s averaging 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals in 35 games.

“Defensive-wise, that’s where we’ve been missing him the most,” Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said. “The way he guards and the energy that he brings, everybody feeds off that, even myself.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Khris Middleton and Marcus Smart, Washington’s veteran additions at the trade deadline, were both full participants in today’s practice, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). They may be able to make their Wizards‘ debuts at home Friday against Milwaukee. “I’m here to be a basketball player,” Middleton said. “I’m here to win games, here to help win games however I can. I am going to be here as a mentor and whatnot, but I want Wizards fans to know that I’m not here just to be a mentor. I’m here to be a basketball player and compete out there and help win games.” Malcolm Brogdon, who sprained his left ankle last Wednesday, isn’t expected to play, Robbins tweets.
Coach Charles Lee said Mark Williams is back to being the Hornets‘ starting center after his trade to the Lakers was rescinded (Twitter video link from Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer). Jusuf Nurkic, who was acquired from Phoenix at the deadline, will be the primary backup, pushing Moussa Diabate back to third string. Diabate started the last three games and recently signed a three-year contract after beginning the season on a two-way deal.
Hawks guard Trae Young made his fourth All-Star appearance this year, so he has learned how to handle the demands of the weekend without getting overwhelmed, per Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I mean, it wasn’t my first time going,” Young said. “So I kind of knew how to take advantage of the weekend, a little bit more rest, during breaks and appearances and things like that. So, I was able to get some catnaps in there, and then after that, after Sunday, after the game, I was able to get out of there and get some rest and spend some family time those last two days. And I’m ready to go.”

Contract Details: Diabate, Ingram, Battle, Len, Cissoko, Martin

February 12th, 2025 at 12:12pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets used a portion of their room exception to give Moussa Diabate more than the prorated minimum on his new three-year deal, Hoops Rumors has learned. Diabate will earn $957,763 for the rest of this season, then has non-guaranteed minimum salaries for the following two years.

Diabate’s $2,270,735 salary for 2025/26 will become partially guaranteed for $250K if he remains on his current contract through the first day of the Hornets’ regular season opener in the fall. The full amount would be guaranteed if he survives next season’s league-wide guarantee deadline date on January 7, 2026.

Here are a few more details on recently signed contracts from around the NBA:

While it’s not official yet, Brandon Ingram‘s three-year, $120MM extension with the Raptors will have an ascending structure, with 5% annual raises, so it’ll start at $38.1MM next season before increasing to $40MM in 2026/27, with a $41.9MM player option for ’27/28, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Scotto adds that the deal won’t include a trade kicker.
Jamison Battle‘s new three-year contract with the Raptors will pay him $1MM this season, with that money coming out of Toronto’s mid-level exception, confirms Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). Battle’s minimum salary for 2025/26 is currently 50% guaranteed ($977,689 of $1,955,377) and would become fully guaranteed if he’s not waived by July 9, Murphy adds. Battle’s third-year minimum salary ($2,296,271) is non-guaranteed and would become fully guaranteed if he’s still under contract through June 30, 2026.
While the Lakers could technically have dipped into their taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Alex Len, that wasn’t necessary. The veteran center received a rest-of-season minimum-salary contract, which will pay him $1,177,206 and count for $743,829 on the team’s cap.
Sidy Cissoko‘s new two-way contract with the Trail Blazers covers two seasons, so Portland will be able to retain him on that contract through 2025/26, tweets Scotto. The same goes for Washington and Jaylen Martin, who got a two-year, two-way deal from the Wizards, Hoops Rumors has learned.

Hornets Sign Two-Way Player Moussa Diabate To Three-Year Deal

February 9th, 2025 at 9:32am CST by Arthur Hill

The Hornets have promoted two-way player Moussa Diabate to a standard contract, the team announced in a press release. Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) was the first to report the deal, and sources tell him it will cover three seasons.

The 23-year-old center signed with Charlotte last summer after spending his first two NBA seasons with the Clippers. He has made such an impact that the Hornets traded away centers Nick Richards and Mark Williams over the past month, although the Williams deal with the Lakers was rescinded Saturday night.

Diabate moved into the starting lineup for Friday’s game against San Antonio, producing nine points and 15 rebounds in 33 minutes. It’s uncertain if he’ll keep that role with Williams returning to Charlotte.

The Hornets are using a portion of their room exception to complete the signing, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Charlotte used that exception to acquire three players (DaQuan Jeffries, Charlie Brown Jr., and Duane Washington) from the Knicks in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade in the fall, but still had enough of it left over to accommodate a deal for Diabate.

While Charlotte currently has 15 players on its roster, one of them is Elfrid Payton, who signed a 10-day contract on Friday under the hardship exception. That means no corresponding move will be needed to add Diabate to the regular roster, and the Hornets will have until March 4 to fill their two-way opening.

Diabate has appeared in 42 games this season, averaging 4.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in 19 minutes per night while shooting 59.4% from the field. He was selected with the 43rd pick in the 2022 draft after playing one season at Michigan.

Diabate was a two-way player in both of his seasons with the Clippers, so this marks his first standard contract.

Several Two-Way Players Nearing NBA Game Limit

February 1st, 2025 at 5:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

NBA players on two-way contracts operate under different regulations than the rest of the league. One of the most important differences is they are limited in the number of games that they’re permitted to be on the active roster.

For two-way players who’ve been with their current teams since the start of the season, that number is 50. Each time they’re listed as active counts toward that total, whether they play or not. Players who sign two-way deals during the season have their limit of games pro-rated.

Those numbers are becoming important since we’ve passed the halfway point of the season, and Keith Smith of Spotrac sent out a tweet earlier today identifying a few players who are getting close to reaching their limits.

Once a player hits his allotted number of games, he’s not eligible to appear in the NBA as a two-way player for the rest of the season. He can remain on the team and play in the G League, but he must be signed to a standard contract to see any more NBA action.

Here are the names Smith noted and the number of games they have remaining:

Jacob Toppin, Knicks (2) – New York has used up nearly all of Toppin’s active time, even though he has only gotten into 15 games and averages 3.1 minutes per night. The small forward seems likely to finish the season in the G League.
Tyrese Martin, Nets (5) – Martin has become part of the rotation in Brooklyn, averaging 21.3 minutes in the 31 games that he played. The shooting guard is a little old for a prospect at 25, but he seems like a strong candidate to land a regular roster spot so the Nets can evaluate him for the rest of the season.
Jordan Miller, Clippers (5) – The small forward isn’t part of the rotation in L.A. and may not be in the team’s playoff plans. He has logged just one minute in three of his last four appearances, and the Clippers don’t appear concerned about preserving the number of games he has remaining. He has been mentioned as a candidate for a promotion.
Jared Butler, Wizards (8) – Washington has nothing left to play for, so it makes sense to take a long look at the 24-year-old combo guard. This is Butler’s fourth NBA season and his second with the Wizards, so this is a good time to determine whether he’ll be part of their future.
Brandon Boston Jr., Pelicans (9) – Boston was among the two-way players most likely to earn a promotion even before the season-ending injury to Dejounte Murray. Boston has played in all 41 games in which he’s been listed as active, making 10 starts and averaging 10.7 PPG in 23.9 minutes per night.

Here are a few more players getting close to their game limits:

Kai Jones, Clippers (11) – Jones has made 27 appearances as a backup center, but he’s only averaging 2.2 points in 7.6 minutes per night. The addition of Drew Eubanks in today’s trade with Utah gives L.A. another veteran big man and lessens the need to promote Jones to the standard roster.
Moussa Diabate, Hornets (11) – Part of the reasoning for the Nick Richards trade was Diabate’s emergence as a dependable center off the bench. He’s been playing big minutes over the past week and seems like he’ll definitely be on a standard contract soon.
Ryan Rollins, Bucks (12) – Rollins is a marginal member of Milwaukee’s rotation, making five starts in his 30 appearances and playing 11.9 minutes per night. His fate could depend on what the Bucks are able to do before Thursday’s trade deadline.

Jeff Peterson: Hornets Will Continue To ‘Listen To Everything’

January 16th, 2025 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

After finalizing a deal to send Nick Richards to the Suns on Wednesday, Hornets president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson suggested in a Zoom call with reporters that the team isn’t done exploring its options on the trade market, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

“We’ve received calls on multiple of our players,” Peterson said. “Nick Richards, we received multiple calls on him. We have good players. I think some of the injuries from a synergy standpoint have made it really tough to jell and see what this group can do.

“But, yeah, I think at this point, look, we are going to listen to everything. We are not going to do anything to compromise the future, but we are going to do what’s best for the organization that we see going forward in order to be sustainable going forward.”

Richards had been a productive contributor for the Hornets in recent years and was on a team-friendly contract, with a $5MM salary this season and a $5MM cap hit for 2025/26. However, as Boone details, Charlotte was comfortable sacrificing some depth in the middle due to the fact that starting center Mark Williams is healthy and looking like his old self, while two-way big man Moussa Diabate has emerged as a regular part of the rotation.

“We feel good about it,” Peterson said. “(Head coach) Charles (Lee) and me are lockstep in what a deal like this means for the roster.”

As Peterson explained, his goal is to build a “sustainable” contender and to avoid “taking shortcuts,” which is why he remains focused on stockpiling assets that will benefit the team in the long run.

“I have zero interest in making the playoffs for one year, and then being out for the next four or five, and then in for two and out again after that,” he said. “So, we want to again build something that has sustainability to it. So, at the same time, we’ve got to continue to take advantage of deals like this that’s adding picks to our treasure chest, if you will, or whatever it may be for us to have that optionality.”

Here’s more on the Hornets on the heels of their first in-season deal of 2024/25:

Josh Okogie may not end up being part of the Hornet’ long-term plans, but Peterson’s comments on Wednesday indicated that the club isn’t necessarily looking to flip him right away. As Boone relays, Charlotte’s head of basketball operations referred to Okogie as the kind of player “we want to bring into this organization,” lauding his character and competitiveness. “He’s having a career year shooting the basketball this year,” Peterson added. “It speaks to his work ethic and amount of time he puts into the gym. So he’s physical, he’s a great defender. We are just excited to get him into the organization.”
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirms that the Suns and Hornets explored a bigger deal involving Richards and Jusuf Nurkic before agreeing to their Richards/Okogie swap. According to Scotto, Phoenix coveted Hornets swingman Cody Martin, but Charlotte wasn’t willing to take on Nurkic’s sizable contract, which includes a $19MM+ guaranteed salary in 2025/26.
Scotto says the Hornets will continue to prioritize adding draft capital in the coming weeks while positioning themselves for a high pick in the 2025 draft. Scotto identifies Martin, point guard Vasilije Micic, and possibly Okogie as some trade candidates to watch.

Southeast Notes: Williams, Wizards, Brogdon, Risacher

January 13th, 2025 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Mark Williams has firmly reestablished himself as the Hornets‘ starting center after returning from injuries that kept him out of action for nearly a full calendar year, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

Williams was dominant in Sunday’s loss at Phoenix, posting 24 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and a block. Most of that damage came in the first half when he had 22 points and 13 rebounds, joining Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama as the only players this season to reach those numbers by intermission.

“I just wanted to come out, be aggressive obviously,” Williams said. “The first game (against Phoenix), we won by playing with pace. So, I just wanted to go out there, and start with those things and it showed for itself.”

Boone adds that two-way big man Moussa Diabate was impressive while Williams and Nick Richards were sidelined with injuries, so Charlotte could make a move at the position before the February 6 trade deadline. A league source told Boone that the Suns have interest in acquiring Richards, confirming reports from over the weekend. Boone notes that Richards had 15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks against Phoenix when the teams met last week, which likely helped his trade value.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Wizards coach Brian Keefe spoke for less than a minute after Sunday’s 41-point loss to Oklahoma City, per Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. Keefe, who only took one question from reporters, was upset that his players didn’t respond to the challenge of facing one of the NBA’s best teams. “We deserve to be criticized by [Keefe],” Corey Kispert said. “… This one is definitely on us as players. Credit to him. He takes a lot of criticism and deflects a lot of praise. And oftentimes that’s not fair because we play and he doesn’t, and it’s our job to be way, way better than we were tonight.”
A foot issue that has caused Malcolm Brogdon to miss four straight games could turn into an extended absence, Shankar adds. For Friday and Sunday, the Wizards changed Brogdon’s designation on the injury report from “right foot pain” to “a plantar fascia contusion on his right foot.” Injuries have limited the veteran guard to 18 games this season. He missed the preseason and the first 11 games due to thumb surgery, then sat out four games in December with an injured hamstring.
Along with learning how to play in the NBA, Zaccharie Risacher had to adjust to a new culture when the Hawks selected him with the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, notes Lauren Williams of the Journal-Constitution. This season is the first extended time Risacher has spent outside of his native France. “I feel like I’m learning every day, and my English has started to get better,” he said. “Just being able to speak with everybody around here, it can be at the facility, within the organization, but also in real life with like people outside in my building, when I go to restaurants or whatever, I speak English all the time. So it really helped me to get better.”

Several Two-Way Players Nearing NBA Game Limit

January 1st, 2025 at 4:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

NBA players on two-way contracts operate under different regulations than the rest of the league. One of the most important differences is they are limited in the number of games that they’re permitted to be on the active roster.

For two-way players who’ve been with their current teams since the start of the season, that number is 50. Each time they’re listed as active counts toward that total, whether they play or not. Players who sign two-way deals during the season have their limit of games pro-rated.

Those numbers are becoming important since we’ve passed the halfway point of the season, and Keith Smith of Spotrac sent out a tweet earlier today identifying a few players who are getting close to reaching their limits.

Once a player hits his allotted number of games, he’s not eligible to appear in the NBA as a two-way player for the rest of the season. He can remain on the team and play in the G League, but he must be signed to a standard contract to see any more NBA action.

Here are the names Smith noted and the number of games they have remaining:

Jacob Toppin, Knicks (2) – New York has used up nearly all of Toppin’s active time, even though he has only gotten into 15 games and averages 3.1 minutes per night. The small forward seems likely to finish the season in the G League.
Tyrese Martin, Nets (5) – Martin has become part of the rotation in Brooklyn, averaging 21.3 minutes in the 31 games that he played. The shooting guard is a little old for a prospect at 25, but he seems like a strong candidate to land a regular roster spot so the Nets can evaluate him for the rest of the season.
Jordan Miller, Clippers (5) – The small forward isn’t part of the rotation in L.A. and may not be in the team’s playoff plans. He has logged just one minute in three of his last four appearances, and the Clippers don’t appear concerned about preserving the number of games he has remaining.
Jared Butler, Wizards (8) – Washington has nothing left to play for, so it makes sense to take a long look at the 24-year-old combo guard. This is Butler’s fourth NBA season and his second with the Wizards, so this is a good time to determine whether he’ll be part of their future.
Brandon Boston Jr., Pelicans (9) – Boston was among the two-way players most likely to earn a promotion even before the season-ending injury to Dejounte Murray. Boston has played in all 41 games in which he’s been listed as active, making 10 starts and averaging 10.7 PPG in 23.9 minutes per night.

Here are a few more players getting close to their game limits:

Kai Jones, Clippers (11) – Jones has made 27 appearances as a backup center, but he’s only averaging 2.2 points in 7.6 minutes per night. The addition of Drew Eubanks in today’s trade with Utah gives L.A. another veteran big man and lessens the need to keep Jones on the roster.
Moussa Diabate, Hornets (11) – Part of the reasoning for the Nick Richards trade was Diabate’s emergence as a dependable center off the bench. He’s been playing big minutes over the past week and seems like he’ll definitely be on a standard contract soon.
Ryan Rollins, Bucks (12) – Rollins is a marginal member of Milwaukee’s rotation, making five starts in his 30 appearances and playing 11.9 minutes per night. His fate could depend on what the Bucks are able to do before Thursday’s trade deadline.

And-Ones: China, 2025 Draft, Doncic, Trade Deadline, Trends

December 6th, 2024 at 11:31am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Nets and Suns will play two preseason games in Macao next October, which marks the first time the NBA is playing in China since 2019, Shams Charania of ESPN reports (Twitter link). The NBA later formally announced the decision (Twitter link).

“Bringing preseason games to Macao will showcase the excitement of the NBA to fans in one of the world’s emerging hubs for sports,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said in the statement. “The Nets and Suns feature an exciting mix of established and rising stars, and we look forward to engaging fans, aspiring players and the local community in Macao through these games and a variety of interactive events, youth development programs and social impact initiatives.”

The partnership is the result of a years-long effort to repair the relationship between the two sides after commissioner Adam Silver and the league didn’t reprimand then-Rockets general manager Daryl Morey after he tweeted support for protests in Hong Kong in 2019, Charania and Brian Windhorst write.

NBA games were then temporarily removed from broadcasts in China and sponsorships were lost. The relationship has been mended largely in part to NBA China’s CEO Michael Ma, according to Charania and Windhorst.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Duke’s Cooper Flagg is still the top-ranked prospect on Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report’s latest mock draft, but Rutgers’ Dylan Harper is beginning to put pressure on him for that top spot. The 18-year-old Harper scored 36 points against Notre Dame and 37 against Alabama. Despite Harper’s strong play, executives have a hard time seeing Flagg being unseated from the pole position, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (Insider link). BYU’s Egor Demin and Rutgers’ Ace Bailey are among other players who will push to hear their names called No. 1 overall.
While Luka Doncic is obviously primarily focused on the Mavericks‘ current season, he’s still excited that Slovenia qualified for EuroBasket 2025 and is looking forward to the chance to suit up for them, Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal reports. Slovenia is also up to potentially host EuroBasket in 2029. “That would be a dream come true, playing in front of fans in a big tournament at the EuroBasket,” Doncic said.
The NBA trade deadline could see reduced action as compared to other recent seasons, due in part to the restrictive CBA but also fewer bad contracts across the league, Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to RealGM). “Teams are a little bit smarter and I just think the intelligence into the game and the way teams are operated and the gameplay is taking some of the stuff fans kind of like — at least some of the older school fans,” Windhorst said.
Hornets two-way player Moussa Diabate has played well amid Charlotte’s frontcourt injuries, which is one recent trend worth monitoring, according to The Athletic’s Fred Katz. Diabate is averaging just 3.1 points per game, but has grabbed 7.8 rebounds (3.6 of which are offensive boards) per night. The Lakers playing better when LeBron James is off the court and Atlanta owning L.A.’s first-round pick are other trends worth keeping tabs on as the season progresses, Katz notes.

Southeast Notes: Suggs, Brogdon, Coulibaly, Williams, Salaun, Diabate

November 25th, 2024 at 5:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Magic guard Jalen Suggs won’t play in Monday’s game against Charlotte due to a left hamstring strain, Marc Spears of ESPN tweets. Suggs has started all of Orlando’s previous 18 games, averaging 14.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists. Suggs signed a five-year, $105.5MM extension last month.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Malcolm Brogdon has provided a calming influence on the Wizards since returning from a thumb injury, Varun Shankar of the Washington Post writes. Brogdon has scored 33 points with six assists over the last two games. “When things go awry or things are feeling sticky … Malcolm is a surefire way for us to get back in the groove of what we’re trying to do,” teammate Corey Kispert said. Brogdon will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly says he’s improved defensively in his second season by “not respecting” his opponents as much and “getting more physical with them,” he told Wizards reporter Bijan Todd (Twitter link). Coulibaly has racked up eight steals and three blocks over the past four games.
With Grant Williams suffering a season-ending knee injury, Hornets coach Charles Lee will have to try to replace Williams’ production in the short term with Tidjane Salaün and two-way player Moussa Diabate, Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer points out. That’s because Mark Williams and Nick Richards are still on the mend from injuries. Williams hasn’t played for nearly a year and Richards is recovering from a rib injury.

Hornets’ Nick Richards Out Indefinitely With Rib Fracture

November 5th, 2024 at 4:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hornets starting center Nick Richards will be sidelined for multiple weeks due to a right first rib cartilage fracture, the team announced in a press release.

An MRI revealed the extent of the injury. He suffered it during an on-court collision in the first half against the Celtics on Friday.

Richards will be evaluated on an every other week basis to monitor progress toward a return to basketball activities. The team will provide its next update on his status following its November 17 road trip.

Richards was averaging career highs in points (11.0), rebounds (10.0) and blocks (2.4) through five starts this season. He appeared in 67 games, including 51 starts, last season despite battling ankle and foot injuries. He averaged 9.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per night.

Richards in the second year of a three-year, $15MM contract.

The injury severely depletes Charlotte up front. There’s still no timetable for center Mark Williams, who is recovering from a strained tendon in his left foot.

Moussa Diabate‘s role will expand and the Hornets will also be forced to used smaller lineups with forwards Grant Williams and Taj Gibson manning the middle. Diabate, a 2022 second-round pick, is on a two-way contract.

Charlotte is off to a 2-5 start and will carry a three-game losing streak into its home game against Detroit on Wednesday.